Dallas Sends Pelluer to Chiefs, Picks Up Palmer From Lions
The Dallas Cowboys traded holdout quarterback Steve Pelluer to the Kansas City Chiefs today for draft picks in the 1990 and 1991 seasons and gave a late pick in 1990 to the Detroit Lions for running back Paul Palmer.
Pelluer, a five-year veteran who was a starter for the Cowboys in 1988, had been on the trading block all year and at one time nixed a deal that would have sent him to the Atlanta Falcons.
After the abortive Atlanta trade, Pelluer changed agents from Joe Courrage to Leigh Steinberg.
The Cowboys signed Pelluer today and then traded him to Kansas City to beat the 3 p.m. NFL trading deadline.
Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson said the 1990 draft pick is “solid” and the 1991 selection depends on Pelluer’s performance.
“Kansas City is where Steve wanted to play, and it’s a good thing for Steve and the picks will help us in the next couple of years,” Johnson said.
The Cowboys went after Palmer because Darrin Nelson, one of five players obtained from Minnesota in a trade for Herschel Walker, said he did not want to play in Dallas.
The Atlanta trade would have paid Pelluer $1.2 million, which included a signing and roster bonus and performance incentives.
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