NFL Trade History: Despite A Lack of History, Texans Have Made Several Deals Involving Stars
The Houston Texans are the NFL’s newest franchise, having started playing in 2002. Although the Texans don’t have the history of other teams, they have made their share of impact trades, including some that involve star players.
One such deal did not make the list due to its recent completion. The March trade in which Houston sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona for running back David Johnson will take at least a year to see how the two stars adjust to their new teams. Here are the Texans’ deals (pre-Hopkins) that made the most impact.
1. April 27, 2003:
Texans acquired: A fourth-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft
Colts acquired: A fifth-round pick in 2003
Colts acquired: A fifth-round pick in 2003
With their pick, the Texans selected Notre Dame safety Glenn Earl, who had three interceptions and 154 tackles in four years with Houston. Earl missed the entire 2007 season after tearing the Lisfranc ligament in his foot and was released the following year. He tried out with the Bears in 2009 but did not make the roster and retired.
Indianapolis used its pick on Robert Mathis, a defensive end and linebacker from Alabama A&M. Mathis spent the next 14 years harassing quarterbacks in the AFC South. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 2013, when he led the league and set a Colts record with 19½ sacks. Among his 18 playoff games was Super Bowl XLI, when he made three tackles and forced a fumble. Mathis retired in 2016 holding team records with 123 sacks and 53 forced fumbles, and his 17 fumble recoveries are tied for the most among defensive players (with 1970s safety Bruce Laird). He has spent the past three years as a defensive line assistant and pass rush consultant with Indianapolis.
Assessment: Even without Earl’s injury, chances are he would not have come close to match Mathis’ impact. COLTS
2. (Part One) March 22, 2007:
Texans acquired: QB Matt Schaub and a first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft
Falcons acquired: First- and second-round picks in 2007 and a second-rounder in 2008
(Part Two) March 21, 2014:
Texans acquired: A sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft
Raiders acquired: QB Matt Schaub
Deshaun Watson is Houston’s star now (more on him later), but he still has a ways to go in order to catch Schaub as the team’s all-time passing leader. Schaub, a University of Virginia product, spent his first three seasons backing up Michael Vick. He became the instant starter after the trade and rewarded the Texans with two Pro Bowl selections and a passing title in 2009. Schaub led Houston to its first two playoff appearances, including a 19-13 victory over the Bengals in the 2012 Wild Card round. He is also the all-time franchise leader with 23,221 yards and 124 touchdowns. The Texans selected Louisville defensive tackle Amobi Okoye with the 10th pick in 2007. Okoye made the All-Rookie team and had 11 sacks while starting 58 games in four seasons with Houston. He played two years with the Bears, but did not appear in a game with the Cowboys in 2014 and the CFLs Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016 before retiring.
The Texans used the pick acquired from the Raiders on Alfred Blue, a running back from LSU. Blue had 2,407 yards in five seasons, but was stuck on Houston’s depth chart behind Arian Foster and then Lamar Miller. He signed with Jacksonville in 2019, but was released in October.
In addition to adding a pair of picks in the trade, the Falcons moved up two spots to draft Arkansas defensive end Jamaal Anderson (not to be confused with Atlanta’s former “Dirty Bird” running back Jamal Anderson). The defensive end played his first four seasons with the Falcons, amassing 4½ sacks and 105 tackles. Anderson spent a year each with the Colts and Bengals, and retired after failing in his bid to make the Bears’ roster in 2013. Atlanta used the second-rounder on guard Justin Blalock, who was an All-American both in high school and in college at Texas. He missed just three games in his eight-year career and started at left guard for the Falcons in a 2012 NFC Championship Game loss in 2012. Blalock retired in 2015.
The Falcons traded away the 2008 pick as part of a deal to acquire three others that turned into Sam Baker, Harry Douglas and Kroy Biermann. Baker was a three-time All-American tackle at USC, but injuries (torn patellar tendons on both knees) limited him to 75 games in seven seasons. Douglas was a star wide receiver at Louisville who posted career-highs with 85 catches and 1,067 yards in 2013. He played six seasons as a slot receiver with the Falcons and three more with the Titans before retiring in 2017. Biermann was a two-time Little All-American selection with Big Sky school Montana. He alternated between defensive end and outside linebacker in Atlanta, posting 23½ sacks in eight seasons spent mostly as a reserve. Biermann signed with the Bills in 2016, but was released in the final round of roster cuts and retired.
Schaub lost out to rookie Derek Carr and threw just 10 passes in 2014, his only season with the Raiders. He played one year as a reserve with the Ravens and returned to the Falcons in 2016. Schaub has spent the past four seasons backing up Matt Ryan.
Assessment: The five players the Falcons acquired in picks from the trade all showed moments of being solid NFL players, but only Blalock was a regular starter. Houston found a franchise quarterback and used a sixth-round pick from Oakland on a productive running back. TEXANS
3. (Part One) April 26, 2008:
Texans acquired: First-, third- and sixth-round picks in the 2008 NFL Draft
Ravens acquired: A first-round pick in 2008
(Part Two) October 31, 2017:
Texans acquired: A third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and a second-rounder in 2019
Seahawks acquired: T Duane Brown and a fifth-round pick in 2018
Seahawks acquired: T Duane Brown and a fifth-round pick in 2018
The Texans used the 2008 first-round pick to select Duane Brown, a former Virginia Tech tackle who made three Pro Bowls in nine full seasons in Houston and was named an All-Pro in 2012. He also started at left tackle in the first six playoff games in team history. Brown held out for six weeks at the start of the 2017 season, leading to Houston sending him to Seattle. In the third round, the Texans selected running back Steve Slaton, who was a 2006 All-American at West Virginia. He ran for 1,282 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, but totaled just 614 yards and four scores over the next three years. Slaton split 2011 between the Texans and Dolphins, failed to make the Bears’ roster, and played with the CFL’s Argonauts in 2014 before retiring. Houston used the sixth-round pick on Dominque Barber, a safety from the University of Minnesota. He had one sack, one interception, and 57 tackles in four seasons with the Texans before retiring in 2011. Barber is now the Coordinator of Alumni Outreach Relations, NFL Liaison and Recruiting Assistant with his alma mater.
The Ravens used their pick on Joe Flacco, the 2007 ECAC Player of the Year at Delaware. Flacco is Baltimore’s all-time leader with 212 touchdowns and 38,245 yards, hitting the 3,000-yard mark eight times. Although Flacco has never been selected to a Pro Bowl, he threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns against the 49ers to earn MVP honors in Super Bowl XLVII. He was traded to Denver in 2019 and played eight games before suffering a neck injury. Flacco signed with the Jets in May 2020.
Houston traded away Brown in the middle of the 2017 season as part of a deal that brought back early picks in consecutive years. In 2018, the Texans selected Martinas Rankin, a tackle from Mississippi State. Rankin played all 16 games in Houston, mostly as a reserve, before he was traded to Kansas City in 2019. He started five games at left guard during the regular season, but suffered a knee injury that ended his season, which ended with the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV. The Texans took Kentucky cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. in the second round in 2019. Johnson made 41 tackles and had seven passes defensed in 14 games with Houston. He returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a touchdown in the Division Round, but the Chiefs came back to win, 51-31.
Despite being traded mid-season, Brown made the Pro Bowl with Seattle in 2017. He has started 37 games over the past three seasons. With the pick acquired in this trade, the Seahawks selected Shaquem Griffin, a linebacker who was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Central Florida in 2016. Griffin joined his twin brother, Shaquill, in Seattle, post 16 tackles and starting all 32 games in his first two seasons. Griffin also offers an inspirational story. He was born with constriction ring syndrome (also called amniotic band syndrome) which caused the fingers in his left hand not to fully develop and also left him in pain. Griffin’s hand was amputated when he was four years old, but he participated in baseball, football, and track growing up.
Assessment: This trade was very difficult to pick a “winner,” since all teams involved made out well. Baltimore won a Super Bowl with Flacco, Brown was a stalwart on the Houston offensive line for nearly a decade and the Griffin brothers have become leaders in Seattle. However, I have to go with the title here, but just barely. RAVENS
4. April 29, 2011:
Texans acquired: A second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft for 2011
Patriots acquired: Third- and fifth-round picks in 2011
Houston selected University of Miami cornerback Brandon Harris late in the 2011 second round. Harris had 37 tackles in three seasons with the Texans and 11 tackles in 11 games with the Titans in 2014. He spent the following year on the practice squad in Tennessee and had a failed attempt to make the Dolphins’ roster in 2016. Harris has spent the past three years with the Toronto Argonauts and was a part of the team’s Grey Cup victory over the Calgary Stampeders in 2017.
The Patriots received a pair of picks, with the first being used to select Stevan Ridley, a running back who was a part of LSU’s National Championship team in 2007 as a freshman. Ridley ran for 2,817 yards and 22 touchdowns in four seasons in New England. His best campaign was 2012, when he notched career highs with 1,263 yards and 12 scores. Ridley played in back-to-back AFC Championship games in 2012 and ’13, which both resulted in Patriots losses (he was also inactive for the Super Bowl XLIX win over the Seahawks). He suffered a knee injury after signing with the Jets in 2015 and has only 285 yards in four seasons since leaving New England. Ridley has not played since 2018 with the Steelers. The fifth-round pick was Marcus Cannon, a tackle from TCU who has played in 115 games and has been the Patriots’ starting right tackle for the past five seasons. Cannon has appeared in 19 playoff games and four Super Bowls, including victories over the Seahawks, Falcons, and Rams.
Assessment: None of these three have been to a Pro Bowl, but Ridley and Cannon have helped New England make several deep playoff runs over the last decade. PATRIOTS
5. March 21, 2012:
Texans acquired: Third- and fourth-round picks in the 2012 NFL Draft
Eagles acquired: LB DeMeco Ryans and a third-round pick in 2012
Houston selected Miami of Ohio guard Brandon Brooks in the third round in 2012. Brooks was a starter at right guard in three of his four seasons with the Texans before signing with the Eagles in 2016. He has missed just two games in four years in Philadelphia while making three Pro Bowls and starting for the Eagles in their Super Bowl LII victory. The fourth-round pick was Georgia’s Ben Jones, who started 43 games at center and both guard spots in his four years with the Texans. He signed with the Titans in 2016 and has missed just one game in four years. Jones has also started eight playoff games, including the 2019 AFC Championship Game, which Tennessee lost to Kansas City, 35-24.
Ryans was an All-American linebacker at Alabama in 2005 and continued his solid play with the Texans. He was the 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, made two Pro Bowls and had more than 100 tackles in each of his first four seasons. At the time of this trade, Ryans was the team’s all-time leader with 636 tackles (he now ranks second to Brian Cushing’s 664 stops). He played four seasons with Philadelphia, registering 334 tackles, five sacks, and five interceptions before retiring in 2016. He is now the inside linebacker coach with the 49ers. Philadelphia used their acquired pick on Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, who made the Pro Bowl in 2013, but his biggest accomplishment came during his second stint with the teams. He started after signing with St. Louis in 2015, but moved across the state to Kansas City after the Rams drafted Jared Goff. Foles returned to Philadelphia in 2017. He started the season as a backup, but was pushed into a starting role after Carson Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14. Foles went 2-1 the regular season then rattled off four straight postseason wins to bring the Eagles their first championship in 57 years. He was named MVP of Super Bowl LII after not only throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns, but also catching a pass from tight end Trey Burton for a score late in the first half. Foles went 4-1 filling in for an injured Wentz in 2018, earning him a four-year, $88 million contract with the Jaguars last season. He got injured, gave way to rookie sensation Gardner Minshew, and was traded to the Bears in March 2020.
Assessment: Not only did Philadelphia get a solid linebacker in Ryans and a quarterback in Foles who played his best in the games that meant the most, they also signed Brooks to be a stalwart on the offensive line. EAGLES
6. April 27, 2012:
Texans acquired: Third- and fourth-round picks in the 2012 NFL Draft
Buccaneers acquired: Second- and seventh-round picks in 2012
Houston used the third-round pick on DeVier Posey, a wide receiver from Ohio State. Posey caught just 22 passes for 272 yards in three seasons but scored in the Division round loss to the Patriots in 2012. However, he ruptured his Achilles tendon in that game. Posey was traded to the Jets in 2015, but had failed tryouts with both New York and Denver over the next two years. He spent two years in Canada, earning MVP honors in the Toronto Argonauts’ Grey Cup victory in 2017. After failing to make the Ravens the following year, Posey went back to Canada, playing one year apiece with the BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes before signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in February 2020. The Texans selected Nebraska’s Jared Crick in the fourth round. Crick played both defensive end and linebacker during his four years with Houston, posting 146 tackles and 5½ sacks. He started 15 games and had five sacks after signing with the Broncos in 2016, but had surgery on a disc in his back and retired in 2017.
The Buccaneers selected Lavonte David, a two-time All-American linebacker at Nebraska, and he has been arguably their best defensive player ever since. David has registered at least 100 tackles in seven of his eight seasons and his 1,008 career stops rank third in team history. The 2013 All-Pro and 2015 Pro Bowler also has 22½ sacks, 21 forced fumbles, 14 fumble recoveries, and 11 interceptions. Tampa Bay drafted Northwestern tight end, Drake Dunsmore, in the seventh round. Dunsmore spent the season on the practice squad and retired the following year.
Assessment: Crick was a part-time starter and Posey’s better years were in Canada. Meanwhile, David has been a team leader and a tackle machine in Tampa Bay. BUCCANEERS
7. (Part One) April 28, 2016:
Texans acquired: A first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft
Redskins acquired: A first-round pick in 2016 and a sixth-rounder in 2017
(Part Two) April 29, 2016:
Texans acquired: A second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft
Falcons acquired: Second- and sixth-round picks in 2016
These trades resulted in the Texans bringing in a pair of solid starters during the 2016 NFL Draft. With the first-round pick, Houston took Will Fuller, who had 30 receiving touchdowns in three years at Alabama. Fuller has spent his entire four-year career as the second receiver on the depth chart behind DeAndre Hopkins, but has solid career numbers. Despite missing half of the 2018 season after tearing his ACL, he is sixth in team history with 2,231 yards and 16 touchdowns, and ranks seventh with 156 receptions. Houston used the second-round selection on Fuller’s Notre Dame teammate Nick Martin, a three-time All-Independent Team center who missed his entire rookie season due to ankle surgery. He has played 47 games over the past three seasons and started in all three of Houston’s playoff games in that span.
The Redskins used their two acquired picks on Josh Doctson and Robert Davis. Doctson was an All-American wide receiver at TCU in 2015, but has had a disappointing NFL career so far. He missed most of his rookie season due to an Achilles injury. He started the next two years with Washington, totaling 81 catches, 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. Doctson was released by the Redskins and signed with the Vikings in 2019, but played only one game due to a hamstring injury. He signed with the Jets in February 2020. Davis has played just seven NFL games, registering two catches for 17 yards. He missed the 2018 season after breaking his tibia and tearing his lateral collateral ligament in training camp. Davis was released by Washington in 2019 and spent most of the season on Philadelphia’s practice squad.
Atlanta’s picks were used to linebacker Deion Jones and guard Wes Schweitzer. Jones, an LSU product, made the All-Rookie Team after posting 108 tackles and returning two interceptions for touchdowns in 2016. He followed that with a career-high 138 stops and his only Pro Bowl selection to date. Despite missing 10 games with a foot injury in 2018, Jones has put together four solid seasons, totaling 409 tackles, 32 passes defensed and nine interceptions, with four returned for scores. Schweitzer went to college at San Jose State and spent his rookie season on Atlanta’s practice squad. He started at each guard spot over the next two years, but served as a reserve when the Falcons signed Brandon Fusco in 2019. Schweitzer signed with the Redskins in March 2020.
Assessment: Houston’s two picks have been solid, and it will be interesting to see if Fuller can step up to the top spot now that Hopkins has been traded. Atlanta has also gotten production from its picks, with Jones serving as a defensive leader. Washington’s selections have not met expectations. PUSH BETWEEN TEXANS AND FALCONS
8. April 27, 2017:
Texans acquired: A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft
Browns acquired: First-round picks in 2017 and 2018
The Texans have had very few players that could be called game-changers, but that list starts with the player acquired with the pick from this trade. Former Clemson standout Deshaun Watson had quite a collegiate career. He was both a high school and college All-American, was a two-time recipient of both the Manning and Davey O’Brien awards (both given for exemplary play by a quarterback), and also was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2015 (won by Derrick Henry) and ’16 (won by Lamar Jackson). Watson made the All-Rookie Team despite losing more than half the season to a torn ACL in practice. He has led the Texans to the playoffs and was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons. Watson is second in team history with 71 touchdowns and third with 9,716 yards, but he is also dangerous with his legs, scrambling for 1,233 yards and 14 scores in three seasons.
The players Cleveland acquired in this deal were not too shabby, either. Jabrill Peppers was a two-time All-American in high school and also earned that honor with Michigan in 2016 (while also joining Watson as a Heisman Trophy finalist). Peppers had 137 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and two interceptions in two seasons with the Browns before he was sent to the Giants as part of the Odell Beckham Jr. deal in 2019. Cleveland used the 2018 pick to select Denzel Ward fourth overall. Ward was a 2017 All-American safety at Ohio State. He made the Pro Bowl and the All-Rookie Team the following year and has 97 tackles and five interceptions as the Browns’ starting left cornerback.
Assessment: Peppers and Ward could become stars in the NFL, but Peppers only spent two years with the Browns. Watson has already been anointed the face of the Houston franchise and he has room to improve. TEXANS
9. September 1, 2019:
Texans acquired: LB Jacob Martin, LB Barkevious Mingo and a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft
Seahawks acquired: DE Jadeveon Clowney
Martin, a Temple product, had three sacks in 16 games as a reserve in his rookie season with the Seahawks. He had 3½ sacks in 14 games with the Texans in 2019, but has yet to make a start. Mingo was a linebacker from LSU who spent his first three seasons with the Browns after being selected sixth overall in 2013. After being traded to New England in 2016, he has played for a different team in each of the past four seasons. He started 14 games, posting 48 tackles and one sack with Seattle in 2018. Mingo played all 16 games with Houston last year, but only started once and had just six tackles. He signed with the Bears in April 2020. The Texans traded the pick in mid-October 2019 to the Raiders for Gareon Conley, a cornerback who was part of Ohio State’s National Championship team in 2014. He faced sexual assault allegations before the 2017 Draft, but a grand jury decided against charging him. Conley has 94 tackles and four interceptions in three NFL seasons, and posted 27 stops and 11 passes defensed in eight games after the trade to Houston. He will compete with Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Phillip Gains for the Texans’ starting left cornerback spot in 2020.
The trade was a disappointing end for Clowney’s tenure in Houston after the Texans selected him with the top overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Clowney was an All-American in high school and a two-time honoree at defensive end with South Carolina. A torn meniscus limited him to four games as a rookie, but he was solid over the next four years. Clowney made three Pro Bowls while amassing 29 sacks and 205 tackles. With Seattle, he had three sacks, four forced fumbles, and also returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown.
Assessment: Martin and Mingo have not made an impact with Houston, but Conley has shown some promise. While Clowney’s first year with Seattle did not match his previous three Pro Bowl seasons, he still had a more productive season than the three players the Texans acquired. SEAHAWKS
10. September 1, 2019:
Texans acquired: T Laremy Tunsil, WR Kenny Stills, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick in 2021
Dolphins acquired: CB Johnson Bademosi, T Julie’n Davenport, a 2020 first-round pick, plus first- and second-rounders in 2021
While this trade cannot be fully broken down until the 2021 picks have had a year in the NFL, we can assess the proven commodities based on their production in 2019. The Dolphins were in the midst of a fire sale when they sent Tunsil and Stills to the Texans. Tunsil was a high school All-American who became a star offensive lineman at Mississippi. He made the All Rookie Team as a left guard and moved to tackle in 2017, playing in 44 games over three seasons in Miami. Tunsil improved even more last season, starting 14 games for Houston and making his first Pro Bowl. Stills was an Oklahoma product who began his NFL career with two years in New Orleans. He became a full-time starter with the Dolphins, totaling 164 catches, 2,566 yards and 24 touchdowns in four seasons. Stills operated as a slot receiver with the Texans in 2019 while posting respectable totals of 40 catches, 561 yards and four scores. He was among a group that was arrested in Kentucky in July 2020 for protesting the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, an EMT who was killed mistakenly by police while serving a no-knock warrant during a drug investigation. Houston traded the 2020 pick for two selections, which were used on North Carolina State tackle Charlie Heck and Penn State cornerback John Reid.
Bademosi was a cornerback from Stanford who signed with the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has played in 120 games with six teams, mostly as a special teams player. Bademosi had 10 tackles in his only season with Houston in 2018 and was cut by Miami midway through the following year. He had just one tackle in six games after latching on with the Saints and he resigned in April 2020. Davenport, a tackle from Bucknell, was a fourth-round pick by the Texans in 2017. He played in 27 games over two seasons, mostly as a left tackle. With Miami, Davenport missed half the 2019 season due to a hyperextended knee and a small crack in his tibia. The Dolphins traded the 2020 first-rounder to the Packers, who sent back two picks, then surprised many with their selection of Utah State quarterback Jordan Love. Miami took Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene and Georgia guard Solomon Kindley.
Assessment: The Dolphins were looking to shed salary, but they also shed two talented players in Tunsil and Stills. The trade may hinge on the play of Miami’s two high 2021 picks, but for now the deal favors the other side. TEXANS
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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