The Cardinals and Texans’ Marvin Harrison Jr. trade is now official. The third-year wide receiver passed his Texans physical Monday and will begin preparing to make his Houston debut.
Arizona will receive 2027 second- and seventh-round picks from Houston for the former No. 4 overall pick. For a bit, it looked like the Cardinals would add a 2028 second-rounder as the centerpiece of a Texans Harrison proposal, but the NFC West team convinced a then-winless AFC South outfit to make the pick a 2027 second. That was enough for the Cards, who had deactivated Harrison for Sunday amid a wave of reports a trade was imminent, to pull the plug on the struggling pass catcher.
Although we heard other teams mentioned as suitors — the Colts, Raiders and Ravens among them — veteran insider Jordan Schultz notes substantial negotiations only took place between the Cardinals and Texans. The sides not having this deal finalized by the time Week 5 Sunday began opened the door to another team outflanking Houston’s offer.
Harrison trade rumors emerged in late September, and Schultz adds the Cardinals and Texans engaged in weekslong negotiations. A second-round pick had always loomed as the Arizona ask, and after Houston had deemed that as too steep initially, the team went from a rumored 2028 second to handing over its 2027 second to seal the deal. The Texans’ 0-4 start impacted their thinking on the need for receiving help, per Schultz, though a tumble to 0-5 may well have swung the trade talks in the other direction.
The Texans are believed to have told the Cardinals a win over the Titans on Sunday would lead to the team parting with the second-rounder Arizona deemed mandatory to move Harrison. No team has ever rallied from an 0-5 hole to reach the playoffs, and just one — the 1992 San Diego Chargers — has recovered from 0-4 to reach the postseason. The ’92 Bolts did so by winning the AFC West. With the Jaguars out to a 4-1 start, the Texans have a difficult road back to compete 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 near-impossible turnaround from four season-opening losses to a playoff berth.
It is interesting that a Texans loss to the winless Titans could potentially have scuttled trade talks, pointing to Houston viewing Harrison as a pivotal piece to helping its 2026 team (it also differs from a Sunday report indicating the Texans were prepared to make the deal regardless of their Week 5 result). Although the Texans took on a Harrison contract running through 2027 (and a deal that could be pushed through 2028 via the fifth-year option), it appears clear the team believes it can claw its way into contention this season.
Upon being told the Texans would fork over the second-round choice if they won in Week 5, the Cardinals (per Schultz) said their deactivation of the receiver would undoubtedly lead to curiosity around the league — and potentially an offer that rivaled Houston’s. No such proposal coming from elsewhere led the Cardinals, after deactivating Harrison, to finally move on rather than try to make an awkward situation work after the flood of Saturday trade rumors emerged.
Through five games (two of those without Nico Collins), C.J. Stroud sits 17th in QBR and 12th in passer rating. He has not thrown an interception this season and is averaging 7.6 yards per attempt.
The Texans will relaunch a 2022 Ohio State connection by acquiring Harrison, who will be positioned as the team’s Collins sidekick. Houston had already invested plenty in its receiver position, using second- and third-round picks on Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Higgins’ ACL tear, which came as Tank Dell (still on IR) had not convinced the team he was ready to return, ignited a trade push. Despite already adding Kayshon Boutte before the season, the Texans took a much bigger swing in hopes they can salvage a nearly lost season.
Houston, which made a defensive play-caller change via DeMeco Ryans taking the call sheet from DC Matt Burke, showing faith its surprisingly mediocre defense would turn things around makes sense given its 2025 form. And the Harrison trade is a big bet Stroud can sustain his improvement. The Texans will have 12 games to evaluate Harrison before the May fifth-year option deadline.