Detroit Lions received Bob Rennebohm and Howard Brown / Howie…
Detroit Lions received Bob Rennebohm and Howard Brown / Howie Brown in the 1948-07-25 exchange with Green Bay Packers. Howard Brown became a Detroit starter and gave the Lions meaningful immediate value from the four-player exchange. The realized value remains close enough to support an even result.
Detroit Lions Received
- player Bob Rennebohm
- player Howard Brown / Howie Brown
Green Bay Packers Received
- player Frank Szymanski
- player Ted Cook
Trade Analysis
The Exchange
On 1948-07-25, Detroit Lions received Bob Rennebohm and Howard Brown / Howie Brown, while Green Bay Packers received Frank Szymanski and Ted Cook. The direct package is the basis for the hindsight grade. Later movement of an acquired pick can explain how value developed, but it does not change what these two clubs exchanged.
Detroit Lions Return
Howard Brown became a Detroit starter and gave the Lions meaningful immediate value from the four-player exchange. The key question for Detroit Lions is how much practical roster value that return produced for the club itself. Playing contribution, starts, specialist service and retained draft value matter more than the simple number of pieces received.
Green Bay Packers Return
Ted Cook gave Green Bay multiple seasons of useful receiving production, balancing the starting value Detroit received from Brown. The same standard applies to Green Bay Packers: realized football value matters more than the appearance of the package on the transaction date. If a pick moved again later, that later move is separate from the direct return here.
Value in Hindsight
Contemporary Green Bay reporting places the straight four-player trade on July 24, 1948: Frank Szymanski and Ted Cook to Green Bay for Howard Brown and Bob Rennebohm. The frozen corpus uses July 25. Brown became a Detroit starter, while Cook gave Green Bay multiple seasons of useful receiving production. Both sides obtained real value, supporting an even verdict despite the one-day reporting variance. The comparison therefore turns on durable contribution rather than draft position, name recognition or transaction complexity alone.
Final Verdict
Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers each receive a C-level result, and the verdict is Even Trade. Neither club created enough durable separation from the direct package to justify forcing a winner. The realized value was either balanced or similarly limited.