Green Bay acquired veteran linebacker Tommy Crutcher from Los…
Green Bay acquired veteran linebacker Tommy Crutcher from Los Angeles for a future fourth-round pick. Crutcher returned to the Packers for a second stint and provided useful short-term depth, but the Rams turned a player nearing the end of his career into a defined draft asset. Los Angeles later used the 1973 No. 99 selection on Terry Nelson, preserving longer-term roster value from the deal.
Green Bay Packers Received
Los Angeles Rams Received
- pick 1973 fourth round pick (#99-Terry Nelson)
Trade Analysis
Why the Trade Happened
Green Bay brought veteran linebacker Tommy Crutcher back for a second stint, giving Los Angeles a future fourth-round choice in return. The 1973 draft trail ties that choice directly to No. 99 Terry Nelson. The package is stated only to the level that published football histories can support, so an unidentified choice stays unidentified instead of being attached to an uncertain player. That keeps the exchange coherent while still allowing the football value on each side to be judged from the assets that are known.
What Green Bay Packers Received
Crutcher played 12 games in both 1971 and 1972 for Green Bay, mostly as depth after his earlier championship years with the Packers. The reunion supplied a familiar veteran, but it did not create a long-term starter. The grade weighs both the price paid and the practical value that followed. A named draft choice is credited only when the selection can be connected to the exchange, while a general future choice remains general. That approach makes the historical comparison useful without overstating details that surviving accounts do not settle.
What Los Angeles Rams Received
Los Angeles turned an older linebacker into the 99th selection of the 1973 draft. Terry Nelson did not become a star, yet the Rams converted a player nearing the end of his career into a defined fourth-round asset. The other side is judged by the same standard: immediate games, starting value, later career impact, and the quality of any draft assets received. Where one part of the package produced little or no NFL value, that matters even if the original transaction looked balanced on paper.
Final Verdict
Los Angeles gets the better grade because it exchanged short-horizon veteran value for a fourth-round selection. Green Bay received useful depth, but the cost was meaningful enough to give the Rams the edge. The verdict reflects the strongest supportable version of the transaction and the career value that followed. It does not depend on assigning an uncertain pick to a player simply to make the package look more complete. The result is a full historical evaluation of the trade that can stand on the known facts.