The Marvin Harrison Jr. era in Arizona closed with an announcement from the other sideline. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters after Houston's 26-3 win at Tennessee on Sunday that the club had finished a trade for the receiver, and Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur confirmed it hours later, after a 45-21 home loss to Detroit.
Early reports had the late-round picks the other way around. The final terms, reported by The Ringer's Tom Pelissero and described by the Cardinals' website, send Harrison and a 2027 sixth-round pick to Houston for the Texans' second- and seventh-round selections in the 2027 draft. A report a day earlier had the second-rounder coming in 2028, Pro Football Rumors noted, so the Cardinals collect it a year sooner than first expected.
The bill and the return
Harrison, the fourth overall pick in 2024, had five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets in four games this season, ESPN reported. He is owed $4 million this year and $5.62 million in 2027. Arizona had already paid his $22.5 million signing bonus, and the fifth-year option decision due this offseason now belongs to Houston.
Where the new second-round pick lands depends on the Texans. Sunday's win was Houston's first of the season after an 0-4 start, and ESPN reported the Texans believe a reunion with C.J. Stroud, Harrison's Ohio State teammate, can turn him into the player he was projected to be.
"I just thought it was in the best interest of this club," LaFleur said, according to azcardinals.com. He said he likes Harrison as a person and wishes him well, then put the shortfall on himself: "Any guy that does not play to the level I feel they are capable of, I'm always going to put that on me and coaching in general."
A room that heard it first
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett said LaFleur and Harrison told the players Saturday, before word leaked. Harrison missed team meetings that night, ESPN's Josh Weinfuss reported, and was inactive Sunday while the paperwork cleared.
"It's a person we all have a relationship with outside of football," Brissett said. "As much as everyone wants to say, 'It's a business, it's a business,' that doesn't make it easy."
Linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said the move surprised him. LaFleur rejected the idea that it was a distraction and said it "was not the reason we didn't play well today."
