{"id":860411,"date":"2026-04-08T06:43:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860411\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T06:43:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:43:25","slug":"patriots-trade-linebacker-marte-mapu-to-texans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860411\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Trade Linebacker Marte Mapu to Texans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Houston%2C+MN&amp;city=Houston&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Patriots+Trade+Linebacker+Marte+Mapu+to+Texans&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fmn%2Fhouston-mn%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Fpatriots-trade-linebacker-marte-mapu-to-texans-1%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69d5760711bed.jpg\" alt=\"A fragmented, geometric painting depicting a football player in motion, with sharp planes of navy blue, red, and white colors creating a dynamic, deconstructed visual.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>A cubist interpretation of a linebacker&#8217;s explosive movements, reflecting the Patriots&#8217; trade of Marte Mapu to the Texans.Houston Today<\/p>\n<p>The New England Patriots have traded linebacker Marte Mapu and a 7th-round pick in 2027 to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 6th-round pick in 2027. Mapu, a former 3rd-round draft pick, saw his defensive snaps decrease dramatically under Patriots coach Mike Vrabel last season.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>This trade allows the Patriots to recoup some draft capital after Mapu&#8217;s diminished role on defense, while the Texans add a young linebacker with potential to contribute on their defense and special teams.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>Mapu started 10 games for the Patriots in 2025, recording 89 tackles, 3 interceptions, 12 passes defended, and 5 forced fumbles. However, his defensive snaps dropped to just 12% last season as he was used more on special teams (58% of snaps). The Patriots will now look to fill the hole at linebacker in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>      The trade was announced on April 7, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>        The players<\/p>\n<p>        Marte Mapu<\/p>\n<p>A former 3rd-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in 2024 who has started 10 games over his 2 seasons with the team.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Vrabel<\/p>\n<p>The head coach of the New England Patriots, who oversaw Mapu&#8217;s decreased role on defense last season.<\/p>\n<p>Houston Texans<\/p>\n<p>The NFL team that acquired Marte Mapu and a 7th-round pick from the Patriots in exchange for a 6th-round pick.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Houston%2C+MN&amp;city=Houston&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Patriots+Trade+Linebacker+Marte+Mapu+to+Texans&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fmn%2Fhouston-mn%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Fpatriots-trade-linebacker-marte-mapu-to-texans-1%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cThis trade allows us to add a young, talented linebacker to our defense while also picking up an additional draft pick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Nick Caserio, General Manager, Houston Texans<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>The Patriots will look to fill the hole at linebacker through the 2026 NFL Draft, while the Texans hope Mapu can carve out a role on their defense and special teams.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>This trade represents a shift in the Patriots&#8217; linebacker corps, as they move on from a former 3rd-round pick in Marte Mapu. The Texans see an opportunity to add a young, versatile player to their defense as they continue to build towards contention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a A cubist interpretation of a linebacker&#8217;s explosive movements, reflecting the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2056],"tags":[7,221,253,2368,6,222],"class_list":{"0":"post-860411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-texans","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-texans","11":"tag-houstontexans","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-texans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116367735456945866","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}