Cincinnati Bengals–New Orleans Saints Trade History
TradeVerdicts records 6 trades between
Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints across 1973–2002. Historical
franchise identities are normalized to the current franchises here,
while each underlying trade keeps its own sourced date, assets,
grades, and verdict.
This page includes every public TradeVerdicts record in which both
current franchises participate. Multi-team trades remain in the
chronology when both clubs are part of the transaction.
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Complete Matchup Chronology
6 Recorded Trades
Oldest to newest
Trade 1
April 10, 1973
Even Trade
Cincinnati BengalsC
New Orleans SaintsC
Cincinnati Bengals received
1974 sixth round pick (#153-William Bryant / Bill Bryant)
New Orleans Saints received
Mike Kelly
Cincinnati sent tight end Mike Kelly to New Orleans in April 1973 for the 1974 sixth-round choice that became No. 153, used on William 'Bill' Bryant. Bryant did not become a Bengals regular-season contributor, so the future selection never produced lasting on-field value for Cincinnati. Kelly's Saints stay was similarly brief, leaving the two sides with little meaningful separation.
Cincinnati traded receiver Drew Buie to New Orleans on June 5, 1973, for a future draft choice whose exact selection has not been securely traced. Buie never appeared in a regular-season game for the Saints and was released before the season. Cincinnati's eventual pick cannot be assigned a specific player, but the Bengals still moved an expendable veteran for draft consideration.
Cincinnati traded running back Jess Phillips to New Orleans for 1974 third- and fifth-round picks. The third-rounder became Dave Lapham, who played 140 Bengals games and started on Cincinnati's first Super Bowl team; the fifth became Haskel Stanback. Phillips gave the Saints two productive rushing seasons, so New Orleans received real value, but Lapham's decade in Cincinnati makes the Bengals the clear winner.
Cincinnati sent running back Stan Fritts to New Orleans on July 21, 1977, for a conditional future draft choice. Bengals team history supplies the decisive detail: Fritts did not make the Saints' regular-season roster, so the condition failed and no pick changed hands. Cincinnati moved on from the player, while New Orleans received only a preseason look.
Cincinnati sent veteran tight end Don Bass to New Orleans in August 1982 and received the Saints' 1983 sixth-round choice. New Orleans got only three regular-season games from Bass. Cincinnati used No. 152 on linebacker Kiki DeAyala, who later played 28 games with two starts for the Bengals. The return was modest, but it clearly exceeded the Saints' brief payoff from Bass.
Cincinnati traded running back Curtis Keaton to New Orleans in 2002 and received a 2003 fourth-round pick that became fullback Jeremi Johnson at No. 118. Keaton appeared in six games for the Saints and carried only 12 times for 19 yards. Johnson became a durable Bengals regular, playing 96 games over seven seasons. Cincinnati converted a fringe player into years of useful starting-caliber backfield work and clearly won the exchange.
