Former New York Giants General Manager Ernie Accorsi of Hershey, Pennsylvania passed away on Saturday at the age of 84 according to ESPN. Accorsi was a long-time NFL general manager as he was in charge of the Baltimore Colts and Cleveland Browns as well.
Accorsi (pictured right) is best known for one trade he orchestrated. It came on the day of the 2004 NFL Draft, where the Giants had a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Chargers. Initially, the Chargers drafted quarterback Eli Manning of New Orleans, Louisiana first overall, and traded him to the Giants in a comprehensive transaction that involved the Giants drafting and trading Philip Rivers of Decatur. Alabama to the Chargers.
Rivers was selected four overall. An interesting trivia question was who were the two players drafted second in the 2024 NFL Draft between Eli Manning and Rivers? The Oakland Raiders drafted offensive tackle Robert Gallery of Manchester, Iowa and the Arizona Cardinals drafted future hall of fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The deal seemed to work in the Giants favour. That is because Manning went on to win two Super Bowls and Super Bowl MVPs with the Giants in 2008 and 2012.
There is another interesting story that was reported by Troy Aikman of ESPN during the Monday Night Football broadcast that featured the Giants and Los Angeles Rams. One reason why Accorsi resigned as general manager of the Baltimore Colts is because he was not consulted in the blockbuster 1983 trade between the Colts and Denver Broncos. In this transaction, Colts owner Bob Irsay traded future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway to Denver. Accorsi believed Elway should have been traded for three first round picks, while Irsay only received two first round picks from the Broncos and quarterback Mark Herrmann of Cincinnati, Ohio.
