Houston Texans News: Is Kenny Stills going to be traded?

Possible Houston Texans news this offseason could be they trade veteran wide receiver Kenny Stills.

When the Houston Texans news broke in 2019 that the franchise had traded for Laremy Tunsil as their new franchise left tackle in a deal with the Miami Dolphins, another player a part of that deal was Kenny Stills.

In trading high draft picks for a span of two seasons, the Texans were at least smart enough to have Stills added to the roster, but times are changing, and the Texans could make a deal to send Stills to his third team in three-straight years.

Houston just drafted Isaiah Coulter in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and not only that, the wide receiver roster also has Brandin Cooks, whom the Texans traded the 57th overall pick of the aforementioned draft, plus the depth chart consists of Will Fuller, Randall Cobb, DeAndre Carter and Keke Coutee.

Even when the Houston Texans news was they had traded DeAndre Hopkins this offseason, the Texans wide receivers — if healthy — isn’t that bad of a group, though they’d be a great group if Hopkins was on the roster.

Now why is the thought of the Texans trading a player with the talent of Stills even coming to mind? Well, that is because of an article by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.

Houston Texans News: Barnwell makes a good point

In his ESPN.com article about one player each team could cut or trade post-2020 NFL Draft, the selection Barnwell made for the Texans was Stills, as he’s a free agent at the end of this season, and none of his money is guaranteed this season, which is a $7 million contract.

The ESPN.com article started the following opinion by Barnwell and the potential Texans news of Stills and the franchise:

"“The Texans are now paying Stills $7 million to serve as the fourth wideout. None of that money is guaranteed, so they could either try to force Stills to take a pay cut, release him or find a trade partner for the 28-year-old.”"

This opinion by Barnwell has good and bad points because of the fact Stills is a talented player, but he does bring some trade value if the Texans had that kind of thought, which could happen as general manager Bill O’Brien has shown in the past no player is off limits if allowed in their contract.

Barnwell also mentions the Green Bay Packers as a possible destination for the veteran Stills, as we all know they are in need of a wide receiver, and they have a “possibly unhappy” quarterback Aaron Rodgers wanting them to add “skill players.”

Though this is a good scenario for the Packers, all the Texans would be receiving is most likely a draft pick in 2021, but the issue is do the Texans trust the likes of a rookie, Carter and Coutee if an injury would occur this season?

Houston Texans News: Why Stills needs to stay with Houston

Though trade scenarios are always exciting, the Texans would be fools to trade Stills this season, because in all honesty they have no idea how the wide receivers will hold up with their injury history.

The group of wide receivers on the Texans have issues staying on the field for an entire season as Will Fuller is proof of that. Lately Brandin Cooks has had some concussion issues, and that is an injury no person wants to take lightly at all.

There is also Randall Cobb, who is a 10-year NFL veteran in his first season with the Texans, and Carter and Coutee are hit-and-miss to be on the field or either in the lineup because of Bill O’Brien’s roster decisions each week. There is also the rookie Coulter, who in this crazy offseason is expected to learn the plays and system, but the pandemic has slowed that process down for all rookies in varying ways.

Yes, there is a $7 million price tag on Stills, is he’s kept on the roster for the Texans this season, but to be honest, he’ll most likely be needed on more than a few occasions to keep the roster rolling and to make plays for Houston in tight moments.

In one season with Deshaun Watson as his quarterback, Stills caught 40 passes (53 targets) for 561 yards with four touchdowns in the regular season.

Stills averaged 14 yards per reception, his longest reception was 45 yards, and that was in 13 games played. Even Pro Football Focus saw value in Stills with an overall grade of 72.2 in 2019, so he was important to the Texans at times last season.

The Texans news coming out of training camp and entering Week 1 can’t be the Texans are unsure at wide receiver because of depth issues. One way to potentially stop that scenario from happening is to keep Stills where he’s at, and that is on the roster of the Texans for at least the 2020 NFL season.