Why Does Everyone Want Houston To Trade Kenny Stills?

This is the time of year when people who make their way in the world by writing stuff about stuff related to football will generate content with armchair general manager articles, speculation, vague tweets, and other not-rooted-in-reality stuff. You know, the sorts of things that help us all keep football in front of mind when there’s really no football.

I know this because I’m guilty as charged.

One imaginary bit of newsworthy speculation that keeps cropping up is:

The Texans Should Trade Kenny Stills.

In fact, just this morning Pro Football Focus posted a new article with a team-by-team list of veteran players who could be traded... operative word “could”.

Pro Football Focus:

The Texans overhauled their wide receiver room this offseason, trading away DeAndre Hopkins and adding Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb. Stills is commanding a lot of money ($7 million) for a receiver projected to be fourth on the depth chart.

His movement would be music to the ears of Keke Coutee truthers out there. He flashed as a rookie in 2018 with his ability to make plays after the catch, finishing fifth in YAC per reception (7.5) among wide receivers with at least 30 targets.

At worst, a Stills trade would further solidify the top three wide receiver options on the Texans’ depth chart.

First off, two wrongs don’t make a right, so trading any good player after trading DeAndre Hopkins should be expressly forbidden until we’ve all come out of the trauma that blockbuster trade unleashed on Texans fans.

Secondly, with the inability for Will Fuller V to survive a full season without injury and Brandin Cooks just one concussion away from early retirement, Stills is going to be needed this season.

Third, Keke Coutee’s days are numbered. There were rumors he got in Bill O’Brien’s doghouse due to a less than stellar work ethic, but there were also stories about O’Brien’s alleged dislike for baby mommas, so who knows what the truth is? The facts as seen in 2019 show that Coutee is not an integral part of the Texans’ offense and will most likely join the list of DeVier Posey, Wendall Williams, Braxton Miller, Lestar Jean, Jaelen Strong, and Keshawn Martin of Texans wideouts with great potential who never quite got there in battle red.

Fourth, Stills just got here. Let him prove his worth before you ship him off to another team for a bag of belly button lint and 3 POGS.

Over at Packers Wire, they’re speculating Green Bay should try and get Stills away from the Texans:

Trading for Stills would likely only cost a late-round draft selection. It also doesn’t hurt that Texans coach/general manager Bill O’Brien has a recent history of being trade-happy.

With the aforementioned need for a non-injury prone speedster, surely the Texans value Stills more than a late round pick. His value to Houston should be more than other teams are willing to pay.

Rotoworld added this, with a recap from The Athletic:

The Athletic’s Aaron Reiss believes Kenny Stills is the likely “odd man out” among Texans wideouts.

The Texans signed Randall Cobb and traded the No. 57 overall pick in this year’s draft for Brandin Cooks, joining them with Will Fuller to be Houston’s new three-wide set following the trade of DeAndre Hopkins. Stills is entering the final year of his contract with a $7 million cap number, all of which can be cleared with a release or trade. Houston likely would have been better off just not signing Cobb and keeping Stills, but they’re here now. Trading Stills would likely only net a late-rounder.

Again, this makes little to no sense. Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills are two different receivers who bring two different skill sets to the field. One’s a Y, the other a Z.

In this season of “GMs Gone Wild” we can’t ignore the anything goes history of the last year, but if the Texans are serious about assembling a top flight passing attack, Stills needs to stay put at NRG Park. Not to mention, he’s the sort of good person/high character guy the Texans covet anyway.

What do you think? Will Stills light the league on fire in this remodeled offense? Has he already played his last game as a Texan? If you do think he’ll get traded, what do you see the Texans getting in return? Give us your best shot in the comments box.