The Arizona Cardinals are sending wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Houston Texans, ending a pairing that never delivered what a fourth overall pick promises. According to ESPN, as relayed by CBS Sports, the Cardinals will ship the 24-year-old and a 2027 seventh-round selection to Houston in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick.
The Texans' head coach confirmed the move Sunday, after Houston beat the Tennessee Titans 26-3 for its first win of the season. News of the deal broke while the Cardinals were playing the Detroit Lions, a game Harrison sat out as an inactive because of the pending trade.
A reunion with Stroud
Houston was frequently mentioned as a likely landing spot, largely because of Harrison's history with quarterback C.J. Stroud. The two were teammates at Ohio State in 2021 and 2022. Asked about the deal after the game, Stroud kept it brief but upbeat. "I think he's a great guy, think he's a great player, and I'm excited to get him here," he said, per CBS Sports.
CBS Sports' Aditi Kinkhabwala reported a day earlier that Stroud had described Harrison as an elite talent, a strong teammate and one of the hardest workers he has known, and that Stroud felt a fresh start could help.
The college numbers explain the optimism. In 2022, with Stroud throwing to him, Harrison put up 77 catches, 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns, marks that matched or topped his previous bests.
What Arizona got, and what Houston needs
Harrison had little impact for the 1-3 Cardinals this season, with five receptions for 85 yards and a score. That left him sixth on the team in catches, behind tight end Trey McBride, who has 33, along with receivers Michael Wilson and Kendrick Bourne and two running backs. Across his Cardinals tenure, Harrison finished with 108 catches, 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns on 202 targets, a volume of looks that trailed only McBride and Wilson over that span, CBS Sports noted.
Houston has a clear opening. Nico Collins, a two-time Pro Bowler, is the established option, while Tank Dell has not played since a severe knee injury in Week 16 of the 2024 season.
Harrison is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison. CBS Sports Research found that the last top-five receiver pick to be dealt this early in his career was Ahmad Rashad in 1974, also by the Cardinals, who sent him to the Buffalo Bills for quarterback Dennis Shaw.
Why it matters
Harrison is also the fifth top-five pick in the past decade to be traded before his fourth season, joining Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Jeff Okudah and Sam Darnold. CBS Sports described Darnold, now a defending Super Bowl champion, as the only one of that group to find real success afterward, and only after several stops.
For Houston, the cost is a second-round pick and a sixth-rounder, offset by a seventh coming back. Whether Stroud can recreate their college chemistry is the question that will define the trade.
Reporting sources: CBS Sports Headlines, “Marvin Harrison Jr. trade: Cardinals send former top-5 pick to Texans for multiple draft choices”.