New York acquired two twelfth-round picks from the Los…
New York acquired two twelfth-round picks from the Los Angeles Raiders on April 28, 1987, sending its 1988 ninth-round choice in return. The Giants used picks No. 321 and No. 329 on defensive tackle Bill Berthusen and running back Chad Stark. Berthusen was waived at final cuts, returned late in the season and appeared in one Giants regular-season game. Stark never played a regular-season game for New York. The package produced almost no direct team value.
Las Vegas Raiders Received
- pick 1988 ninth round pick (#229-Scott Tabor)
New York Giants Received
- pick 1987 twelfth round pick (#321-Bill Berthusen)
- pick 1987 twelfth round pick (#329-Chad Stark)
Trade Analysis
The exact trade structure is clearer than the legacy row suggested. Pro Sports Transactions records the April 28, 1987 exchange as Los Angeles sending twelfth-round picks No. 321 and No. 329 to New York for the Giants' 1988 ninth-round pick. The Giants selected Iowa State defensive tackle Bill Berthusen at No. 321 and North Dakota State running back Chad Stark at No. 329. The future pick settled at No. 229 in 1988, where the Raiders selected California punter Scott Tabor. The older record omitted Stark entirely and inserted unsupported undisclosed consideration on both sides; those fields should be removed rather than carried forward.
Berthusen generated the only direct regular-season appearance tied to the trade. Contemporary transaction reporting shows New York waived him at the final 1987 cutdown, and Pro Football Archives records that he later spent time with Cincinnati before the Giants re-signed him on December 1. He appeared in one regular-season game for New York during that return stint. His Cincinnati starts and sacks are not credited to the Giants because they occurred while he was under another team's control.
Stark did not produce a Giants regular-season appearance. Pro Football Reference lists him as the No. 329 Giants draft choice and credits him with two career NFL games, both for Seattle in 1987. Those Seattle appearances happened after New York no longer controlled his rights, so they do not count as value from the trade. For the Giants' side, No. 329 therefore represents a draft choice that did not become active-roster game value for New York.
Tabor likewise produced no Raiders regular-season value. The Raiders' historical draft records confirm that they used No. 229 on the California punter, and Pro Football Reference's 1988 Raiders draft ledger shows no NFL regular-season games attached to his career line. His college punting production explains why Los Angeles made the selection, but it does not create professional return for this trade evaluation.
The realized outcome is effectively a wash. New York received two shots in the final round of the 1987 draft and extracted one regular-season appearance from Berthusen, while Los Angeles converted the future ninth-rounder into a punter who never appeared in an NFL game. That one-game difference is too small to justify a meaningful winner. An Even Trade verdict with C grades on both sides reflects negligible direct value while still recognizing that the Giants at least received one active-roster appearance from the package.