Sitting at 2-5 on the season, it was difficult to make an argument that the Houston Texans should be buyers or sellers at Tuesday’s trade deadline.
They weren’t quite at a spot where they needed to sell off their best players for draft picks, and the uncertainty of their playoff chances through eight weeks gave pause to the idea that they should spend more draft capital for another player – especially after trading a second-round pick for Marvin Harrison Jr. last month.
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But the Texans’ 44-22 win over the Chargers could change that dynamic, especially considering the fact that C.J. Stroud is playing at an MVP level.
The NFL’s trade deadline is 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, leaving the Texans with less than 24 hours to decide if they want to make a deal or stand pat.
A look down the Texans’ schedule would suggest that perhaps they should make a trade. With games against the Browns, Colts, Ravens, Steelers and Commanders upcoming, the Texans could make up some serious ground with wins over those teams.
The Texans are currently 1 ½ games behind the Patriots for the AFC’s seventh and final playoff spot as well as the Browns, who currently sit at eighth.
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Last month, general manager Nick Caserio said he had talked with nearly every team across the NFL about what they were looking for, or who they were willing to part ways with.
“Teams have started to reach out a little bit, trying to figure out where teams are, what are you looking for, where is the surplus, where do you potentially have a need?” Caserio said. “We’ll always be open-minded, we’re not going to eliminate anything, we’ll listen and ultimately do what we feel makes the most sense.”
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Trading for a player would certainly be a gamble. The Texans as of Monday afternoon have a 32% chance to make the playoffs, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats – up from 25% last week.
The win over the Chargers showed the strides the Texans’ defense made. They sacked Justin Herbert eight times and forced two turnovers. But it didn’t prove the defense was fixed.
They’ll need more wins to prove that.
But again, the Texans don’t have much time before the deadline to realize that. They’ll have to make their decision based on faith and confidence in their ability to reel off more wins.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Chicago Bears have already pulled off major trades. The Jaguars acquired safety Jesse Bates III from the Falcons early Monday morning, parting with a 2027 second-round draft pick for a half-season rental. Then in the afternoon, Jacksonville then agreed to trade its 2027 first-rounder and a 2029 second-rounder to the Eagles for defensive tackle Jordan Davis.
The Bears traded for ex-Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons two weeks ago. And the Seahawks traded for ex-Colts guard Quenton Nelson two weeks ago as well.
It can be argued that those trades made those teams better.
Conventional thinking would suggest the Texans stand pat and not do anything other than trade players at positions where they have a surplus, like offensive tackle. There aren’t a ton of available players who could make a major difference on the Texans.
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Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is one of them, but Indianapolis and Houston would never agree to a trade with each other.
The second-round pick the Texans lost in the Harrison trade is one they’ll likely want to recoup somehow, though Caserio said there are other avenues in which they can fill their team during the offseason.
However, if they have faith that this team will be able to compete for a Super Bowl this season, then making a trade perhaps isn’t a bad idea.
All but one of the Texans’ losses have come by one score.And the 20-6 loss to the Bengals happened, in part, because they were without Nico Collins and Tank Dell. It’s not far-fetched to suggest that they can make a run if they remain healthy and can learn how to finish.
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The Texans have several needs currently. They need to improve their running game, where they rank 29th out of 32 teams. Houston could improve that by adding an interior offensive lineman or another running back.
During the playoffs in January, the Texans will need to have a running game as weather conditions worsen, making passing more difficult.
Houston experienced that in each of its past three playoff exits against the Ravens, Chiefs and Patriots in the divisional round.
That’s why running the football is paramount.
The Texans could also improve their secondary as they’ve given up the third-most explosive plays in the NFL.
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“As we always do, we will assess everything and any opportunities to get better as a team, we’ll assess that and see what happens,” Ryans said Monday morning, when asked whether Sunday’s game had changed their perspective.
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This article originally published at Has Houston Texans’ perspective at NFL’s trade deadline changed after win over L.A. Chargers?.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
