The Houston Texans’ game against the Tennessee Titans may end up doing more than just deciding Week 5. It could help determine whether Marvin Harrison Jr. is coming to Houston.
With talk growing over the weekend that the Arizona Cardinals want to move on from Harrison Jr., the Texans have been widely seen as the team to watch. Reports have linked Houston to serious interest in the wide receiver, including a future second-round pick reportedly offered to Arizona. If things break a certain way, Harrison Jr. could be wearing a Texans uniform by the end of Week 5.
The hold-up is the unusual part. Harrison Jr. has already been placed in a strange limbo: inactive on game day, apparently on the trade block, but still without a completed deal or a confirmed destination.
In most situations like this, a player would already be gone by now. That hasn’t happened here.
Arizona may simply be waiting for the best possible return. Even if Houston has a second-rounder on the table, another team could always step in with a stronger package before the weekend ends. For a player of Harrison Jr.’s caliber, the Cardinals have every reason to push for the biggest haul they can get.
But Houston’s own situation matters too.
A win in Nashville would leave the Texans at 1-4. That wouldn’t solve everything, but it would at least give them a foothold after a winless start, some momentum to work with, and a better case for treating a second-round swing on Harrison Jr. as a move that can still pay off this season.
A loss, though, changes the math fast. Falling to 0-5 would bury the Texans even deeper, and they’d be staring at a record no team in NFL history has ever turned around to reach the playoffs. At that point, the aggressive win-now posture Houston entered the season with would be much harder to maintain, especially if the price is a second-round pick.
The Texans did fight back from early-season trouble last year, but this situation would still feel different. A deal for Harrison Jr. would look a lot less attractive if Houston leaves Tennessee empty-handed.
So if Texans fans are hoping to see Harrison Jr. in navy by Week 6, Sunday’s result could be the hinge point. Win, and the pursuit can keep moving. Lose, and the entire plan may have to change.
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Jalen Pitres shoulder injury added another wrinkle, with the veteran leaving the game and rookie Kamari Ramsey stepping in to help fill the void. Both Pitre and Montgomery are considered week-to-week, and that leaves the Texans watching a pair of important spots closely as they head into the next stretch, with the snap distribution from Sunday serving as an early clue to how the staff may have to adjust. [Read more 🡒]