Eric Takes His Money and Runs to Indianapolis : Rams Land Six Draft Choices and Two Backs
The Rams once traded 11 players to the Dallas Texans for the rights to linebacker Les Richter.
In 1959, they sent nine players to the Chicago Cardinals for Ollie Matson.
In 1974, the team and league’s Most Valuable Player, quarterback John Hadl, was shipped to the Green Bay Packers for five draft choices.
But no trade in Ram history will likely compare to the one officially consummated Saturday, when the team sent disgruntled star Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts in a three-team deal of blockbuster proportion.
Dickerson immediately signed a four-year contract for an estimated $5.6 million.
To complete the deal, the Colts sent unsigned rookie linebacker Cornelius Bennett to the Buffalo Bills.
In return, the Rams received three first-round draft choices, three second-round picks, running back Greg Bell of the Bills and fullback Owen Gill of the Colts.
The Rams will get both teams’ first choices in 1988, plus Indianapolis’ second-round pick. In 1989, the Rams receive Buffalo’s first-round selection and both teams’ second-round choices.
Including their own draft picks, the Rams will own 10 of the top 112 draft choices in the next two seasons.
The price they paid for such a future was the most gifted runner of his generation, Dickerson, who perhaps still hasn’t reached his prime at 27.
In the end, though, the Rams figured they couldn’t afford to keep him.
“In my view, the trade was necessary after the disruptive influences of the last three weeks,” Ram Coach John Robinson said.
He was, of course, referring to Dickerson’s all-out war of words with Ram management, Dickerson going so far as to suggest that Robinson run the football in his place.
“After Dickerson said the coach could run 47-Gap, I knew he’d be running it someplace else,” guard Dennis Harrah said.
The Dickerson move will perhaps trigger others. Cornerback LeRoy Irvin, who has been on Dickerson’s negotiating heels all season, will apparently follow the tailback out of town before Tuesday’s trading deadline.
Irvin, who missed three days of practice this week because of the flu, was placed on the team’s inactive list Saturday. That list served as Dickerson’s launching pad to Indianapolis.
“That’s the word,” Irvin said of his imminent departure. “But I don’t even know what’s going on.”
An All-Pro cornerback the last two seasons, Irvin said the team must have interpreted his recent illness as a high-fevered sit-in to protest the team’s handling of Dickerson.
“I guess I picked the wrong day to get sick,” Irvin said. “Hopefully, if I’m indeed going to get traded, they’ll do it soon. I’d like to start over.”
If it’s any indication, teammates referred to Irvin in the past tense Saturday.
The Dickerson saga was brewing, storming rather, since last May, when the tailback first announced he was unhappy with the terms of the three-year contract extension he signed in 1985.
It suddenly struck Dickerson that while he was running in a class by himself, his employers were handling him like third-class baggage. That was the way it seemed in his mind, at least.
He first cried for a trade in London, in August, but his words then were mild compared to the verbal venom that was not-so-discretely planted in Southland newspapers recently.
Dickerson’s final maneuvering through the press came after several negotiating sessions with Ram Vice President John Shaw broke down.
Robinson, who had no real influence on the negotiating process, ultimately saw the core of his team eroding.
Last Monday night, he allowed Dickerson to sit out the entire second half of a game the Rams might otherwise have won. Robinson later found himself on the defensive concerning the so-called thigh injury that kept Dickerson from playing.
“I must tell you that I don’t lie,” he told reporters Saturday. “We decided not to play him because the leg was sore.”
Others, some players for sure, were not so convinced. And Robinson knew that the consequences of showing preferential treatment to a player, even a franchise player, could be fatal.
“The team as a whole is what’s important,” he said. “This is like a family member who no longer adheres to the way the family behaves. The family is more important than the individual. We understand he’s made a lot of yards and is a great player; we’re not naive about that. But clearly, we understand now that the group as a whole is more important.”
Ram player reaction was mixed. There seemed to be an equal sense of loss and relief.
“We’ve lost two great players, two players who will be sorely missed,” safety Johnnie Johnson said of Dickerson and Irvin. “But why should we be angry? We have no control over that. Even if I wanted Eric and LeRoy back, it couldn’t happen. LeRoy was my best friend on the team; we came in the same year. If I wanted to, I could go in and plead and beg, but it wouldn’t help.”
Instead, most Rams spoke of the need to move ahead, to re-focus attention on trying to salvage what’s left of the strangest of seasons.
“I’ll miss (Dickerson’s) beautiful runs,” Harrah said. “I’ll miss calling him Mr. Benny (for his frugality). He’s a good man, but we’ve got a season. There’s no giving up. We’ve got a job to do. There’s an outside chance we could catch fire. You’ve got to hold onto something positive in your life and your work. If you lay down now, your future’s gone.”
Still, veteran Rams don’t need to read tea leaves to sense that change is coming, much sooner than expected. Tight end David Hill, Dickerson’s best friend and blocker, said he doesn’t expect to be around much longer.
The Rams are not promising wholesale changes, but it seems the glory year that was supposed to be this season has been put on hold for future considerations.
All-Pro tackle Jackie Slater, for instance, is 33. He’ll likely be gone by the time today’s draft choices become tomorrow’s stars.
“The disappointing thing to me was that we got off to an 0-2 start with Eric in the backfield,” he said. “That’s the thing that disappoints me.”
Yet, Slater and others saw no way to stop the Dickerson avalanche, which ultimately was fueled more by pride and emotion than common sense.
Not even a perfect season could have saved this situation, Slater said.
“You’ve got to think if things were rolling smoothly, people wouldn’t rock the boat,” he said. “But you all know this is a thing that’s been brewing for a long time. I think it eventually had to be dealt with. The timing was unfortunate for everyone. But in some ways, it was right on time. It was just getting to the point where it was too big of a distraction.”
Ram Notes
About the new running backs: Greg Bell, from Notre Dame, was the Bills’ first-round pick in 1984 and the 26th choice overall. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but his play has dropped off considerably since. Bell, hampered by injury and other problems, has gained only 60 yards in 14 carries this season. “I’m overjoyed about being traded to the Rams,” Bell said. “I’m looking forward to being part of a real good football team.” . . . Owen Gill, a second-round choice out of Iowa in 1985, gained 490 yards in 98 carries in two seasons with the Colts. . . . Bell and Gill will join Irvin on the team’s taxi squad this week. . . . Ram quarterback Jim Everett, when hearing that Dickerson was planning to dress for the Colts’ game today with the New York Jets: “You definitely have to give our trainers credit for getting him well so quickly,” he said facetiously. “We’ve got the best trainers in the world.” Everett also said he offered Dickerson, free of charge, the chance to meet with his agent, Marvin Demoff, last August. Everett thought that Demoff, an experienced agent who is on good terms with the Rams, could help Dickerson in negotiations. Everett said Dickerson declined.
THE TRADE Colts: Obtain running back Eric Dickerson from the Rams and sign him to a four-year, $5.6-million contract. Bills: Acquire the rights to linebacker Cornelius Bennett, a rookie holdout from Alabama who was a 1987 first-round draft choice of the Colts, and the second player selected overall. They then sign Bennett to a five-year contract worth an estimated $4 million. Rams: In return for Dickerson, they receive from the Colts their first- and second-round 1988 draft choices, a 1989 second-round choice, and fullback Owen Gill. From the Bills, they receive a 1988 first-round choice, 1989 first- and second-round choices, and running back Greg Bell. THE RAMS’ NEW RUNNING BACKS GREG BELL OBTAINED FROM BUFFALO RUSHING
Year Att Yds Avg TD 1986 90 337 4.2 4 1985 223 883 4.0 8 1984 262 1100 4.2 7 Totals 575 2320 4.1 19
RECEIVING
Year No. Yds Avg TD 1986 12 142 11.8 2 1985 58 576 9.9 1 1984 34 227 8.1 1 Totals 104 945 9.8 4
OWEN GILL OBTAINED FROM INDIANAPOLIS RUSHING
Year Att. Yds Avg TD 1986 53 228 4.3 1 1985 42 262 5.3 2 Totals 95 490 4.8 3
RECEIVING
Year No. Yds Avg TD 1986 16 137 8.6 0 1985 5 52 10.4 0 Totals 21 189 9.5 0
