Houston Texans: Exploring Jamal Adams Trade Package

The Houston Texans are among the mix of NFL teams that All-Pro safety Jamal Adams has in his shortlist for his next destination.

The Houston Texans have the opportunity to be in the sweepstakes for New York Jets safety Jamal Adams after he revealed to ESPN insider Adam Schefter that Houston formed part of his shortlist of teams that he desired to be traded to.

Adams is a generational talent at the safety position and it is rare for players of his caliber to become available. Adams is certainly a player the Texans could utilize in their defense with his ability to change the momentum of a game.

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Adams has been insanely productive in his first three years in the league with 273 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 25 pass deflections, 12 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and two interceptions. The Texans have a young rising star safety in Justin Reid, and it would be an amazing tandem to pair both of them for the upcoming season.

Houston faces its own obstacles in getting Adams as they are projected to have limited cap space for the following seasons as they work on a super deal to extend franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson and other talented players like Zach Cunningham and Gareon Conley.

However, if any outside team has the background information of what Jamal Adams is like on and off the field, it is the current Texans Director of Player Personnel, Matt Bazirgan. He spent 14 years with the Jets and was part of the front office that did their due diligence on Adams before drafting him sixth overall in 2017.

Despite the contrary notion, the Texans have sufficient trade assets to swing a deal for Adams.

Texans have the flexibility to be aggressive in pursuing Adams, and the upside of acquiring him would be that they would still have him in the final year of his rookie-scale contract before his fifth-year option kicks in. The worst-case scenario of the Texans being unable to retain Adams would be that they tag him in 2022 and trade him to a team that would give Houston similar draft compensation to what they will have to pay to acquire him.

According to Jordan of the Texans Unfiltered Podcast, the Texans did in fact have talks in the past about acquiring Adams before the 2020 NFL Draft.

Inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney is a player the Texans clearly value but his inclusion in any deal would be a starting point in trade talks with the Jets. If the Texans have to pick between Zach Cunningham and McKinney, it makes sense to retain the younger, more athletic, and rangier player in Cunningham once his rookie deal expires. McKinney, along with draft compensation, would undoubtedly put the Texans in conversation with the Jets for Adams.

Another solid player, the Texans, could add to the trade to sweeten the deal would be a veteran wide receiver like Kenny Stills. The Texans would be doing Stills a favor by allowing him to have a more significant role for his next contract with the Jets. Stills remains a very productive receiver in the league, but his role for playing time seems more uncertain after the offseason additions in the summer. The Jets could use a solid receiver like Stills in their offense to help quarterback Sam Darnold.

Two solid starters in McKinney and Stills plus the high draft compensation the Jets want in return for Adams would be a great package to compete with other teams around the league.