THE Cardinals And Texans‘ Marvin Harrison Jr. the trade is now official. The third-year receiver passed his physical with the Texans on Monday and will begin preparing to make his debut in Houston.
Arizona will receive 2027 second and seventh round picks from Houston for the former No. 4 overall pick. For a while, it looked like the Cardinals would add a 2028 second-rounder as the centerpiece of a Texans Harrison offer, but the NFC West team convinced a then-winless AFC South team to make the pick in 2027. That was enough for the Cards, who deactivated Harrison on Sunday amid a flurry of reports that a trade was imminent, to pull the plug on the struggling pass catcher.
Although we’ve heard other teams mentioned as suitors — among them the Colts, Raiders and Ravens — veteran Jordan Schultz notes that substantial negotiations have only taken place between the Cardinals and Texans. The parties failing to finalize that deal by the time Week 5 began Sunday opened the door to another team outflanking Houston’s offer.
Trade rumors regarding Harrison emerged in late September, and Schultz adds that the Cardinals and Texans were engaged in week-long negotiations. A second-round pick had always been imminent as Arizona requested, and after Houston initially deemed that too steep, the team moved from a rumored 2028 second to handing over its 2027 second to seal the deal. The Texans’ 0-4 start has impacted their thinking about the need for help, according to Schultz, although a fall to 0-5 may well have swung trade talks the other way.
The Texans reportedly told the Cardinals that a win against the Titans on Sunday would lead the team to part ways with Arizona second-rounder deemed mandatory to move Harrison. No team has ever recovered from an 0–5 hole to reach the playoffs, and only one – the 1992 San Diego Chargers – recovered from an 0–4 hole to reach the playoffs. The 1992 Bolts did it by winning the AFC West. While the Jaguars are off to a 4-1 start, the Texans have a tough road back to competing in their division. But the playoff field expanded to seven teams per conference in 2020, opening the door wider for a team to pull off the nearly impossible turnaround from four season-opening losses to a playoff spot.
Interestingly, a Texans loss to the winless Titans could have potentially derailed trade talks, indicating that Houston views Harrison as a critical piece to helping its 2026 team (this also differs from a report on Sunday indicating that the Texans were willing to make the deal regardless of their Week 5 outcome). Although the Texans signed Harrison to a contract through 2027 (and a deal that could be extended to 2028 via fifth-year option), it seems clear that the team believes it can force its way into contention this season.
After learning that the Texans would give up the second-round pick if they won in Week 5, the Cardinals (per Schultz) said that their deactivation of the receiver would undoubtedly spark curiosity around the league — and potentially an offer that would rival Houston’s. No such proposal from elsewhere led the Cardinals, after deactivating Harrison, to finally move on rather than try to make a sticky situation work after Saturday’s flood of trade rumors emerged.
During five matches (including two without Nico Collins), CJ Stroud ranks 17th in QBR and 12th in passer rating. He hasn’t thrown an interception this season and is averaging 7.6 yards per attempt.
The Texans will reignite an Ohio State connection in 2022 by acquiring Harrison, who will be positioned as the team’s Collins sidekick. Houston had already invested heavily in its receiver position, using second- and third-round picks at the receiver position from Iowa State. Jayden Higgins And Jaylin Christmas. Higgins’ ACL tear, which occurred then Dell Tank (still on IR) hadn’t convinced the team he was ready to return, which sparked a trade push. Despite the addition already Kayshon Boutte Before the season, the Texans took a much bigger turn in hopes they could salvage a nearly lost season.
Houston, who made a defensive signal caller change via DeMeco Ryans take DC’s call sheet Matt Burkeshowing that his surprisingly mediocre defense would turn things around makes sense given his form in 2025. And trading Harrison is a big bet that Stroud can maintain his improvement. The Texans will have 12 games to evaluate Harrison before the fifth-year option deadline in May.
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