BRB GroupThink: Houston Texans Deadline Deals?

With the NFL Trade Deadline closing in (it's next Tuesday afternoon, for those keeping score at home) and the Texans in full-on tank mode, vesting themselves of veteran players, we felt it was time to discuss what trades we’d like to see from the Texans. So, the question we all wrestled with was:

Aside from the Elephant-In-The-Room trade talk of Deshaun Watson, the Texans are allegedly “open for business” when it comes to the fast approaching November 2nd trade deadline. With that in mind, what trade (aside from a Watson one) would you most like to see the Texans pull off?

L4Blitzer:

To be honest, the way that this team is set up and how they are performing, I think that every single one of the guys on the roster is fair game. Since the team is whiplashing from keeping veterans to then cutting them, cap hits be [Easterbyed], then by all means. let’s go with the biggest fire sale in league history. It would be great to off-load some of the worst offenders on this team, particularly guys like Vernon Hargreaves and Eric Murray, for any sort of compensation. Perhaps you spare Cooks the pain of balling out on a sinking team and trade him to a contender. He might net a decent draft pick in return. Still, even if we off-load players for just sixth and seventh round picks, that is still getting some return on the bad investments. As for any specific player, with the squad this team has, unless we are picking up a young prospect or taking on some bad money that will come off the cap next season with a draft pick in tow, I am not sure there is any one particular player that I would want to see come here (no one in the NFL really deserves that fate).

This team is set up to fail as is and there is probably not a quick fix in store, even if Taylor returns as the starting quarterback. Really time to start looking towards the future and set up to get young, cheaper talent. 2021 is confirmed as a lost season. May as well offer some modicum of hope for the next couple of seasons, if for no other reason than to give fans a reason to maybe tune in and perhaps buy a ticket or two.

BFD:

For me, the only player on the team with keeping long-term that will not be in a rookie contract next year is Justin Reid. Anybody else is available. I mean, it’s not like the team is going to be that much worse without a player on the current roster.

Diehard Chris:

It’s the easiest answer, but it’s by far the most true. Laremy Tunsil should be traded for whatever you can get for him (within reason). It’s great to have a lockdown left tackle, but the Texans aren’t going to be in contention next year, or likely not the following year. So let’s get as much draft equity as we possibly can, and see if Nick Caserio is actually any good at his job.

Since I figure Tunsil will be a popular answer, I’ll throw some others out there. There is literally nobody on this roster that should be untouchable, although Jonathan Greenard has me feeling some kind of way about him so I’ll leave him out. Zach Cunningham, Brandin Cooks, and maybe even Charles Omenihu since you may actually may be able to get a decent mid pick for him. Strip this thing down to the nothing and truly start from the bottom. We are screwed with Cal and Jack in charge anyway, so since we can’t force an Easterby firing or a change in ownership, we may as well see what these clowns can do when they have a blank slate. (Sigh).

Evan:

If this question was asked a few weeks ago, I would have said Whitney Mercilus. However, the team recently parted ways with him, and he’s now on the Packers (still rooting for ya, Whit).

With Mercilus gone, the next candidate that pops into my head is Brandin Cooks. He’s been one of the few bright spots on this Texans team, but with the youth movement in mind, it wouldn’t really hurt to say goodbye. A third or fourth-round pick in return sounds about right.

Two other guys that come to mind are Phillip Lindsay and David Johnson, both running backs. I would include Mark Ingram as well, but I think it makes more sense to let him play out the rest of this season where he started. The ground game has been very inconsistent, and at this point, it makes sense to just give one guy all the carries. Johnson or Lindsay would probably be thrown in with some late-round pick swap, but depending on the trade partner, Houston could possibly look to get more depth at another position.

Carlos Flores:

Shoot Lonnie Johnson Jr. into the sun and never look back.

As much as it would sting fantasy wise, getting Brandin Cooks off this team could net use some of the best value we could see from anyone on this team.

There’s really no one on this roster outside of a few promising young players on defense and a few high investment players on the offensive line that shouldn’t be moved. Everyone is expendable.

Matt Double Underscore Weston:

The Texans are pretty much stuck at the trade deadline. Because they restructured Zach Cunningham, and Laremy Tunsil, they can’t trade them. The veterans they signed haven’t contributed enough for a team to make a run at them. And the young players who could use a change of scenery haven’t warranted someone trading for them.

That being said, there are three players that make sense. Brandin Cooks does, but he’s the entirety of Houston’s offense, not just the passing offense, and they might as well just forfeit the rest of the season if they move him. Justin Reid is a free agent next year. Is Houston going to give him $12 million a year at more of a luxury position, will they use the rest of the season to see if he warrants this, or will they allow him to walk next offseason a la Will Fuller. And Maliek Collins has shown juice as an interior rusher, something every team can always use more of.

Because of this, there isn’t a realistic trade that I’m clamoring for. They should have pulled the plug last season. Now they are stuck entering the trade deadline.

Mike Bullock:

I don’t disagree with anything anyone above has said. If I were emperor of the universe, it would be fire sale time. Any player I could trade for a draft pick would be gone. My goal would be to set the record for most draft picks held by a team in NFL history. The 1997 Miami Dolphins had 14 picks that year, I want that record.

As much as I love Justin Reid, he and Laremy Tunsil, along with Zach Cunningham would all get traded. Hopefully for mid round picks, Tunsil possibly as high as a 2nd, seeing as how hard it is to come by quality left tackles.

Those 3 players deserve a fresh start out of the glow of the H-Town dumpster fire and the Texans could benefit from it with a few draft picks.

Next up, I’m sure a wide receiver needy team would love to have Brandin Cooks, despite Cooks recent assertion he wouldn’t accept another trade. I’d bet after watching this team self destruct all around him he’d welcome a shot to go play with Tom Brady or Josh Allen or Dad Prescott or any other playoff bound team willing to give Houston a mid-round pick for his services.

At the end of the day, nothing from this season is useful in a rebuild since Caserio brought in a host of old veterans and almost no young, inexpensive-but-high-potential free agents. Burn it all down and start anew...

Now it’s your turn to chime in. If you had the power, what players would you send to new destinations? What would you want in return? Give us your trade desires below!