Yeah, a really top talent who seemed to have a hard time conforming within the system as it was set up then.

We're all free to talk about it or not talk about it fortunately

Bell was gone from the Patriots after the '72 season.

"I traded for Duane Thomas because I thought he was the greatest running back in football," Bell said Wednesday. "There is all sorts of finagling when you trade a player, but the league rule that has never changed is, he must pass a physical."

Teammates called Thomas misunderstood.

"He's one of the most honest, sensitive men I've ever met," former Redskins teammate John Wilbur said at the time. "He's just misunderstood, that's all. It's just that he's his own man."

Thomas won a Super Bowl as a key Cowboys contributor in 1971, but faded away. Dallas traded him to the Chargers, but Thomas never showed up in San Diego. He sat out the 1972 season, resurfaced with George Allen's Redskins, jumped to the World League briefly and never played in the NFL again.

The trade was reversed. At least partially.

Thomas went back to the Cowboys. Garrett went back to the Patriots. Hagen and Jackson stayed with the Patriots. New England recouped its 1972 first-round pick, sending second- and third-rounders to the Cowboys instead.

Bell called then-commish Pete Rozelle, relaying to Rozelle that the Patriots had questions about Thomas, and that the situation was a bad look for the league.

Schramm, the Cowboys' prez/GM from 1960-88, said he felt compelled from "a moral and ethical standpoint" to find a compromise

Thomas practiced with the Patriots without completing a physical. He clashed on the field with coach John Mazur. Mazur sent Thomas off the field. Thomas left the team.

Bell, son of former commissioner Bert Bell, knew the Patriots had a problem.

"You are getting criticized. Do you really want to give up two No. 1s?"

Bell: "I'm not saying this happened with the Ravens, but let's say Crosby gets to Baltimore. He is still recovering from the injury. And then somebody comes in to you and says, like they did to me, 'Are you sure you want to make this deal?'"

Much about the NFL has changed, but then as now, teams have the right to put newly acquired players through physical exams before signing off on an acquisition.

The process is typically a formality, but in rare cases, the physical exam can provide one last offramp for teams having second thoughts

Bell: "I had heard rumors, but you don't know til you get him there. I do know when he reported – it was on a Sunday, and I was traveling - they said he fell down the stairs. I said to the doctor, 'Let me see about this deal.' I said, 'Don't give him the physical yet.' "

Thomas refused a blood test and urinalysis.

"In those days, you did not have all the information you have today," Bell said Wednesday.

The Patriots' coach preferred Garrett. There were other complications. Thomas also was rumored to have had involvement with drugs (his agent, Al Ross, who represented basketball star Spencer Haywood in Haywood's historic fight against NBA eligibility rules, shot down these rumors at the time).

Upton Bell was in his 1st year as Patriots' GM after a 5-yr run as the Colts' personnel director. Bell thought Thomas could be the best back in football.

And so Bell sent the Patriots' 1972 1st-rd pick with RB Carl Garrett to DAL for Thomas, OL Halvor Hagen & WRHonor Jackson.

Mayhem ensued.

"I hope Thomas has a lot of money," Brandt said then, "because we're not going to trade him. In fact, if he did have a lot of money, I'd sue him."

This went on for a while until the Cowboys did what teams do when a player becomes more of a distraction than an asset: they traded him.

Duane Thomas demanded a new contract from the Cowboys after winning NFL OROY in 1970. He held out and ripped management. GM Tex Schramm was "dishonest" … exec Gil Brandt was "a liar" … and coach Tom Landry was "plastic man"

My favorite part of this story didn't fit into the story so I'll share it here: a time when the #NFL commissioner helped to undo a Patriots-Cowboys trade involving players and a first-round pick. A 🧵 …

The Maxx Crosby trade fiasco, the Ravens’ motivations and how the NFL world reacted Agents, executives and coaches have been buzzing about circumstances of and the fallout from a blockbuster trade that wasn't.

Was the Maxx Crosby trade simply a fallback in case the #Ravens could not sign Trey Hendrickson?

That and much more in this analysis with @jourdanrodrigue.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/711...

Also in Pick Six: #patriots were outlier among outliers this season

What does it mean for future?

Seahawks’ title underscores how to win in the modern NFL. There’s no going back: Pick Six Great QBs have ruled the NFL for decades, but increasingly, even they are living in a league driven by the active, opportunistic GM.

In his Super Bowl “Pick Six”, @sandonfl.bsky.social on John Schneider setting himself apart, HOF voting, Patriots comps, awards season, Sonny Jurgensen and so much more

What do the last two Super Bowl winners have in common?

Final Pick Six column of the season marks #seahawks SB win by tracing evolution of the modern GM

Schneider & Roseman out front

👇👇👇

www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

NFL coaches pick the Super Bowl: Seahawks clear favorite, but Patriots have paths to victory Five coaches broke down the matchup, and while all favored the Seahawks, they also see how the Patriots could pull the upset.

My annual pre-Super Bowl column asking #NFL coaches to pick the winner.

Every one picked #seahawks to win, but they also saw paths for #patriots to pull the upset.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

Brees, Fitzgerald, Vinatieri lead starry, Belichick-less Hall of Fame class

Story:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

Who else besides Craig could:
•Block like a FB
•Excel in short-yardage
•Run like a tailback
•Catch like modern receiving chess piece RB

I think Craig waited because there weren't comps for him--harder to measure

Episode 44: Mike Sando, senior NFL writer at The Athletic YouTube video by Breaking In With Kevin Fishbain

"Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain" episode 44

Guest: @sandonfl.bsky.social

Learn how Sando got his start in sports media, and we go through some of the stories he wrote at his first Super Bowl, 27 years ago.

Sponsor: www.playbyplaycamps.com

How do you find a unique story at an event covered like the Super Bowl? Great advice from @sandonfl.bsky.social

Nice recovery with that 2026 HOF class:

•Brees = #2 all-time pass yds
•Fitzgerald = #2 all-time receiving yds
•Vinatieri = #1 all-time scoring leader
•Kuechly = DPOY, 5x All-Pro
•Craig = one-of-a-kind RB

Yes, Belichick should have gotten in. Short of that, this is good recovery.

Why is it harder than ever to become a Hall of Famer?

Was working on this before we knew Belichick missed

www.nytimes.com/athletic/vid...

Jim Rome Show - Mike Sando - 2/2/26 This is "Jim Rome Show - Mike Sando - 2/2/26" by Sammy Steinlight on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

This conversation picked up momentum as we went

So much #NFL stuff going on from hiring to Super Bowl to HOF and more

vimeo.com/1161289844