Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals exchanged 1971 sixth…
Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals exchanged 1971 sixth round pick (#145-Bill McKinley) for Virgil Carter. Buffalo's sixth-round return became Bill McKinley. The positional and workload gap is enormous. In hindsight, Cincinnati Bengals produced the stronger realized return, with the grade based on actual post-trade service and traceable downstream value rather than the nominal asset label alone.
Buffalo Bills Received
- pick 1971 sixth round pick (#145-Bill McKinley)
Cincinnati Bengals Received
- player Virgil Carter
Trade Analysis
The Exchange
Buffalo sent quarterback Virgil Carter to Cincinnati in 1970 for the Bengals' 1971 sixth-round pick, which the Bills used at No. 145 on linebacker Bill McKinley.
Buffalo Bills Return
Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals exchanged 1971 sixth round pick (#145-Bill McKinley) for Virgil Carter. Buffalo's sixth-round return became Bill McKinley. The positional and workload gap is enormous. In hindsight, Cincinnati Bengals produced the stronger realized return, with the grade based on actual post-trade service and traceable downstream value rather than the nominal asset label alone.
Cincinnati Bengals Return
Cincinnati Bengals sent 1971 sixth round pick (#145-Bill McKinley) and received Virgil Carter. Carter became a real starting quarterback for Cincinnati. The positional and workload gap is enormous. In hindsight, Cincinnati Bengals produced the stronger realized return, with the grade based on actual post-trade service and traceable downstream value rather than the nominal asset label alone.
Value in Hindsight
The positional and workload gap is enormous. Cincinnati acquired multiple seasons of starting quarterback play for a sixth-round choice, while Buffalo turned that pick into a seven-game reserve. Even without treating Carter as a franchise star, the realized value strongly favors the Bengals.
The grade also avoids rewarding either side simply for acquiring a named veteran or a numbered draft choice. The useful question is what the new club actually received after the transaction: games, starts, production, roster longevity, or a traceable downstream selection. That realized-value test keeps a small historical exchange from being overstated.
Final Verdict
Cincinnati wins decisively and earns an A-. Buffalo receives C- because McKinley did make the roster, but seven reserve games cannot compare with the starting-quarterback value Carter delivered.