San Diego traded defensive tackle Andy Rice to Kansas City in…
San Diego traded defensive tackle Andy Rice to Kansas City in early May 1972 for a 1973 seventh-round draft choice. Contemporary UPI reporting described the return as a future draft choice, while the Chargers' own trade history identifies it as a seventh-rounder. Rice was released by Kansas City on September 14 without appearing in a Chiefs regular-season game.
Kansas City Chiefs Received
- player Andy Rice
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- pick 1973 seventh-round draft choice (selection not identified)
Trade Analysis
The Andy Rice transaction can be reconstructed more precisely than the legacy TradeVerdicts row suggested. San Diego's official trade history records the Chargers sending Rice to Kansas City in May 1972 for a 1973 seventh-round selection. A contemporary United Press International report published May 8 says the trade occurred on the preceding Friday and describes the compensation as a future draft choice, supporting a May 5 transaction date. Pro Sports Transactions' 1973 draft ledger independently identifies the compensation as Kansas City's 1973 seventh-round pick while noting that the exact selection cannot be matched confidently in the surviving draft record. Rice was an experienced defensive tackle when Kansas City reacquired him. He had originally played for the Chiefs in 1966 and part of 1967 before stops with Houston and Cincinnati. With San Diego, Pro Football Reference credits Rice with 21 regular-season games, 10 starts and 10.5 sacks across the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Kansas City therefore was acquiring a veteran who had still been contributing significant snaps for the Chargers. The Chiefs did not receive regular-season production from the deal. Pro Football Archives records Rice joining Kansas City in the May trade and being released on September 14, 1972. The next day Chicago claimed him on waivers, and he went on to play all 14 Bears games that season. NFL career records contain no Kansas City appearance in 1972. That makes the realized Chiefs return from this specific transaction zero regular-season games. San Diego's downstream value is less precise because the exact seventh-round selection remains unidentified. TradeVerdicts does not invent a player for the pick. Even without that mapping, the Chargers exchanged a veteran they were prepared to move for future draft capital, while Kansas City released Rice before the season and realized no game production. That supports a modest Chargers win rather than the previous Even Trade label. San Diego receives a C+ for obtaining a draft asset whose final player value is unknown; Kansas City receives a D because the acquired player never appeared in a regular-season game for the club. Confidence is medium: the player movement and seventh-round compensation are well supported, while the exact pick identity remains unresolved.