Cleveland sent wide receiver Ron Green to Minnesota for a…
Cleveland sent wide receiver Ron Green to Minnesota for a future draft choice whose exact selection is not securely identified. Green had appeared in only five regular-season games for the Browns across 1967 and 1968, so Cleveland moved a lightly used player for additional draft value. Green did not add regular-season production for Minnesota after the exchange, leaving the Vikings with little measurable return.
Cleveland Browns Received
- pick draft choice (selection not identified)
Minnesota Vikings Received
- player Ron Green (Morris)
Trade Analysis
Why the Trade Happened
Cleveland moved wide receiver Ron Green to Minnesota in February 1969 for a future draft choice whose exact selection is not securely identified. Green had appeared in only five regular-season games for Cleveland across 1967 and 1968. 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 Cleveland Browns Received
Cleveland turned a lightly used receiver into future draft consideration. Even without a safe selection number, obtaining an asset for a player with five career appearances represented sensible roster value for the Browns. 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 Minnesota Vikings Received
Minnesota reacquired a player it had originally drafted in 1966, but Green did not add regular-season production for the Vikings after the exchange. That leaves the player side with little measurable return. 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
Cleveland gets the better grade because it obtained a future choice for a player who did not deliver regular-season value to Minnesota. The unidentified selection keeps the Browns' grade moderate rather than making this a major win. 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.