New York acquired veteran defensive tackle Sam Silas from the…

The legacy row combines two separate August 14, 1968 Giants-Cardinals transactions and therefore cannot stand as one exchange. Pro Sports Transactions identifies the Sam Silas deal directly: St. Louis sent Silas to New York for the Giants' 1970 second-round pick, later No. 38 overall, where the Cardinals selected Chuck Hutchison. A contemporary August 1968 newspaper record separately reports that New York traded defensive back and returner Clarence Childs to St. Louis on the same date. Those were distinct player movements, not a single six-asset swap. The old row's undisclosed-consideration fields, unidentified 1969 pick, Childs, Silas and 1970 second-round pick should not be merged into one package.

This rebuild preserves the transaction with the clearest complete compensation chain: Silas to New York for the 1970 second-round choice. Pro Football Reference and NFL records confirm Silas moved from St. Louis to the Giants for the 1968 season. He appeared in all 14 games for New York, made two starts and is credited by Pro Football Reference with 2.5 sacks. Silas had been a Pro Bowl defensive tackle with St. Louis in 1965, so the Giants were acquiring an experienced veteran rather than a fringe roster piece. His New York tenure, however, lasted only that 1968 season; he played for San Francisco in 1969 and 1970.

The Cardinals' return is also traceable. The transferred second-round choice became the 38th overall selection in the 1970 draft, and St. Louis used it on Ohio State guard Chuck Hutchison. NFL records show Hutchison played seven games for the Cardinals as a rookie, 13 in 1971 and four in 1972, with two starts in his final St. Louis season. He later continued his career with Cleveland and eventually became a full-time starter there in 1975. TradeVerdicts credits St. Louis only for the value realized from the acquired pick and Hutchison's Cardinals tenure, not for his later Browns development.

The separate Clarence Childs transaction remains documented as a same-day Giants-to-Cardinals move, but the sources reviewed for this pass do not establish a reliable compensation chain that can be attached to it. Rather than invent a 1969 pick or undisclosed return, this row is narrowed to the fully sourced Silas-for-second-round-pick exchange. The Childs evidence is retained in QA notes so the deconflation is auditable.

In hindsight, the Cardinals receive the edge. New York got a useful veteran season from Silas, but St. Louis converted him into a second-round selection and received three seasons of roster service from Hutchison. A B- for the Cardinals and C for the Giants reflects that modest but clear advantage without overstating Hutchison's role or discounting Silas' full-season contribution.