Three best trades in Seattle Seahawks history
By Lee Vowell
Number 3: Matt Hasselbeck from the Green Bay Packers, 2001
Trade from the Green Bay Packers for a 2001 3rd round pick
Before Matt Hasselbeck came to the Seahawks the franchise had either been mediocre or bad since 1988. After finishing first in the AFC West in 1988 (albeit with just 9 wins), Seattle went 14 straight seasons without winning more than 9 games and made the playoffs just once.
While adding Hasselbeck didn’t immediately change things in and of itself, he helped solidify the team and his position for the better part of 10 years. From 2001 to 2010, Hasselbeck led the Seahawks to three different seasons of 10-plus wins, a Super Bowl appearance (they got robbed by the officiating and lost to the Steelers in 2005) and made three Pro Bowls.
Hasselbeck also had become the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards (29,434) and was second all-time in touchdown passes (174) and wins (69). Hasselbeck led the offense to what was (before the 2010s) Seattle’s best offensive performance over the span of a decade.
And Seattle only gave up a third round choice to the Packers in 2001. Green Bay had two choices in 2001 in the third round and combined those two players started 13 games. Like all the trades on this list, this was one-sided in favor of the Seahawks. Did Green Bay need a quarterback at the time? No. But Seattle did and got the better of the deal.