The Marvin Harrison Jr. trade between the Cardinals and the Texans is now official. The third-year wide receiver passed the Texans’ physical 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 moment, it looked like the Cardinals would add a 2028 second-round pick as the centerpiece of a Harrison proposal from the Texans, but the NFC West team convinced a then-winless AFC South team to make the 2027 second-round pick. That was enough for the Cardinals, who had deactivated Harrison for Sunday in amid a wave of reports that a trade was imminent, they pulled the plug on the struggling pass catcher. While we’ve heard other teams mentioned as suitors, including the Colts, Raiders and Ravens, veteran insider Jordan Schultz notes that only substantial negotiations took place between the Cardinals and Texans. The fact that the sides did not have this deal finalized when Week 5 began on Sunday opened the door for another team to outbid Houston. Harrison trade rumors surfaced in late September, and Schultz adds that the Cardinals and Texans engaged in negotiations that lasted weeks. A second-round pick had always come up as Arizona asked, and after Houston initially deemed it too expensive, the team moved from a rumored 2028 second to handing over its 2027 second to seal the deal. The Texans’ 0-4 start affected their thinking about needing help, according to Schultz, although a drop to 0-5 may well have swung trade talks in the other direction. The Texans are believed to have told the Cardinals that a win over the Titans on Sunday would lead to the team parting ways with the second-rounder Arizona 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) has recovered from an 0-4 hole to reach the postseason. The ’92 Bolts did it by winning the AFC West. With the Jaguars off to a 4-1 start, the Texans have a tough road back to contending in their division. But the playoff field expanded to seven teams per conference in 2020, further opening the door for a team to make the nearly impossible turnaround from four season-opening losses to a playoff berth. Interestingly, a Texans loss to the winless Titans could have derailed trade talks, indicating that Houston views Harrison as a critical piece to help its 2026 team (it also differs from a report on Sunday that the Texans were prepared to make the deal regardless of their Week 5 outcome). Although the Texans agreed to a contract with Harrison through 2027 (and a deal that could extend through 2028 via the fifth-year option), it seems clear that the team believes he can fight his way into contention this season. When told the Texans would give up their second-round pick if they won in Week 5, the Cardinals (per Schultz) said their deactivation of the catcher would certainly generate curiosity around the league, and potentially an offer that would rival Houston’s. No such overture coming from elsewhere led the Cardinals, after deactivating Harrison, to finally move on rather than try to make an awkward situation work after Saturday’s avalanche of trade rumors emerged. Through five games (two of them 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 relaunch a connection with Ohio State in 2022 by acquiring Harrison, who will position himself as Collins’ teammate. Houston had already invested heavily in its receiver position, using second- and third-round picks on Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Higgins’ ACL tear, which occurred when Tank Dell (still on IR) had not convinced the team he was ready to return, ignited a trade push. Despite adding Kayshon Boutte before the season, the Texans made a much bigger turn in hopes they could salvage a near-lost season. Houston making a defensive play change via DeMeco Ryans taking DC Matt Burke’s call sheet, showing faith that its surprisingly mediocre defense would turn things around makes sense given its form in 2025. And the Harrison move is a big bet on Stroud being able to sustain his improvement. The Texans will have 12 games to evaluate Harrison before the May deadline for the fifth-year option.
