Baltimore sent defensive tackle George Wright to San Diego…
Baltimore sent defensive tackle George Wright to San Diego and received the 1972 fourth-round pick used on Eric Allen plus the eighth-round pick used on Al Qualls. Both selections became concrete Colts draft assets, while Wright's Chargers stay was brief. San Diego later recovered a 1973 fifth-round choice by moving him to Cleveland, but Baltimore still created the stronger return from the original exchange.
Indianapolis Colts Received
- pick 1972 fourth round pick (#104- Eric Allen )
- pick 1972 eighth round pick (#191-Al Qualls)
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- player George Wright
Trade Analysis
Why the Trade Happened
Baltimore's own historical trade listing records George Wright going to San Diego on January 31, 1972 for the fourth-round choice used on Eric Allen and the eighth-round choice used on Al Qualls. Chargers histories attach additional choices, but the Colts' itemized account is internally coherent with Baltimore's draft class. This treatment uses the most specific contemporaneous or club-history description available and leaves any genuinely unidentified draft choice unnamed rather than attaching a speculative player.
What Baltimore Colts Received
Baltimore turned a reserve defensive tackle into two draft selections. Eric Allen and Al Qualls were both actually selected by the Colts in 1972, giving the return a concrete draft outcome rather than a speculative pick chain. The return is evaluated on the assets that can be tied directly to the transaction, not on later guesses about uncertain pick chains. That keeps the historical package readable while preserving the limits of what can be established.
What San Diego Chargers Received
San Diego acquired Wright but moved him again during the same season, sending him to Cleveland in September for a 1973 fifth-round choice. That later trade recovered value but also shows how short his Chargers tenure was. The football result matters because a trade grade should reflect both the price paid and what the acquired asset actually delivered. Immediate roster value, later movement and retained draft capital all shape the comparison.
Final Verdict
Baltimore earns an A- and San Diego a C. The Colts received two usable draft choices for a player the Chargers held only briefly. San Diego did recoup a future fifth from Cleveland, but Baltimore's two-pick return was stronger. The grade is based on the strongest documented version of the exchange and the subsequent value each club received. Where later histories disagree on a peripheral detail, the uncertain detail is left general instead of being presented as settled fact.