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Texans general manager Nick Caserio says the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade was settled on Friday night, two days before anyone outside the two front offices knew where the receiver was going, and that Houston’s Week 5 result in Nashville never had a say in it.
Speaking Wednesday in a radio interview with Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast, Caserio said he and Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort had been talking for a few weeks and shook on the deal Friday. “The trade was done Friday night,” Caserio said. “We had to agree to the parameters. There were a few things we had to finalize and work out, but what happened in the game had absolutely zero bearing on whether or not we were going to consummate the transaction.”
Why it took until Sunday
The delay came from Arizona’s side. Caserio said Ossenfort wanted to wait until after the weekend’s games to tell Harrison where he was headed, and Houston agreed. “He wanted to handle it a certain way as it pertained to the communication and certain other things, so we certainly didn’t have a problem with that at all,” Caserio said.
That explains a strange weekend. Word that Arizona was moving the 2024 fourth overall pick broke on Saturday, and the Cardinals listed Harrison inactive for their home game against the Detroit Lions, but the destination and the price stayed unclear. DeMeco Ryans confirmed the move after Houston’s 26-3 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and the trade became official on Monday once Harrison passed his physical.
Caserio also pushed back on the idea that Houston was waiting to see how its game went. The Texans were 0-4 going into Nashville. “We’re not going to agree to something, see what happens in the game, and then back out of it,” he said. “I don’t operate that way.”
Houston made the first call
Caserio said he started the conversation earlier this month by asking Ossenfort whether Harrison was available. “I wouldn’t say they were actively shopping the guy or trading the guy, but part of our responsibility is to inquire and ask questions,” he said. The two worked together in the New England Patriots’ personnel department for more than a decade, and they were also on opposite ends of the 2023 draft-day trade that sent the pick Houston used on Will Anderson Jr. to the Texans.
Under the final terms, the Cardinals received second- and seventh-round picks in the 2027 draft, while Houston got Harrison and a 2027 sixth-rounder. Harrison is due $4 million this season and $5.62 million in 2027, and the Texans will face his fifth-year option decision next spring.
Door stays open on Stroud
In the same interview, Caserio did not rule out reopening contract talks with C.J. Stroud, Harrison’s former Ohio State teammate, during the season. Houston and Stroud’s agent, David Mulugheta, did not reach an extension in the offseason, and Stroud has two years left on his deal, including the fifth-year option the club picked up in May.
“If we want to continue, no problem. If not, it’s something that we’ll address or handle in the offseason,” Caserio said. “We just try to keep the dialogue moving, keep it open, and when it’s appropriate to revisit, then you revisit.”
What’s next
Ryans said Wednesday that Harrison will play on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, his first game for the 1-4 Texans. Caserio said the club likely won’t have a clear picture of Harrison’s role for another three or four weeks, possibly not until after the bye, and that landing a young receiver under contract for at least two more seasons was part of the calculation.
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