The Houston Texans have been as active as any team on the NFL trade market under first-year general manager Nick Caserio.
Obviously, most rumors in Houston have surrounded disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson since he requested a trade early during the offseason. Something could come to fruition on that end ahead of the November NFL trade deadline with the Miami Dolphins looking to pull off a trade.
In keeping with this theme, here’s a look at three trade scenarios for the rebuilding Houston Texans to consider over the next couple weeks as the team sits at 1-5.
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Houston Texans trade Brandin Cooks to the Green Bay Packers
- Texans get: Kevin King, 2022 second-round pick
- Packers get: Brandin Cooks
At 28, Cooks doesn’t necessarily fit into the Texans’ long-term rebuild plans. He’s also set to become a free agent after the 2022 season and is slated to count $15.5 million against the cap next year. These are two things that lead us to believe that Cooks could be on his way out of town.
In terms of compensation, the Texans add a high-upside young corner in Kevin King who is in desperate need of a change of scenery. They also add to their draft stockpile with a second-round pick next April. This deal makes sense for Green Bay as the Super Bowl contenders look to give Aaron Rodgers another weapon behind stud wide receiver Davante Adams.
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Houston Texans trade Justin Reid to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Texans get: Tyler Johnson, 2022 first-round pick
- Buccaneers get: Justin Reid
At 24, most believe that Reid should fit into the Texans’ long-term plans. I am not buying that. While he’s one of the top young cover safeties in the NFL, his presence isn’t going to make a huge difference as Houston tears it all up to rebuild again. Rather, the team adds a talented young receiver in Tyler Johnson and a valuable first-round pick in next year’s draft.
From Tampa Bay’s perspective, this almost makes too much sense. The team has been linked to Jets safety Marcus Maye. It needs to find a player next to stud youngster Antoine Winfield Jr. Clearly in win-now mode with Tom Brady at the helm, moving off a 2022 first-round pick for a Pro Bowl-caliber safety almost makes too much sense.
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Houston Texans trade Deshaun Watson to the Miami Dolphins
- Texans get: Tua Tagovailoa, 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, 2023 first-round pick
- Dolphins get: Deshaun Watson
We’re now hearing reports that this deal could get done ahead of the Nov. 2 NFL trade deadline. It’s rather interesting in that Watson continues to face allegations of sexual assault and/or misconduct from north of 20 women. While he has not been charged criminally, a grand jury is set to convene. However, Miami has continued to show interest in the reigning NFL passing yards leader.
A trade could get tricky with conditional picks heading to Houston pending the outcome of the legal situation and any potential punishment levied against Watson by the NFL. Either way, two first-round picks and young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would have to be the starting-off point here.