Houston Texans make no big trades, time to move forward

The Houston Texans didn’t trade any of their star players at the trade deadline.

Many had opinions on what the Houston Texans needed to do at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. Names like J.J. Watt at one time were mentioned to be traded, and it was talked about that most likely one of the many wide receivers would be traded to a contender.

None of that happened.

In fact, the Texans kept every wide receiver they had on the roster, and that included Will Fuller as the reports were the Green Bay Packers really had interest in the five-year veteran. They and the Houston Texans never agreed on value and important details for a deal to be completed, so Fuller stays with the Texans for at least 2020.

For the Texans it was simple, the Packers didn’t want to trade a second round pick or pay for the remaining salary of Fuller so a deal didn’t happen. The Texans can easily wait and if Fuller doesn’t return in 2021 they will be given a compensatory pick in the third round.

In those terms the Houston Texans front office made the right move in keeping Fuller. Now the franchise needs to hope Fuller stays healthy and see what happens with him, and the rest of the receivers on the roster.

With the Texans keeping Fuller — and the rest of the top players on the roster — they still have a chance to win more in the second half, compared to what they did in the first half as the team is 1-6 as they are coming off a bye week.

The good news for the Houston Texans is they are facing the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, the only team they have defeated this season. From there, for the rest of November the Texans will be at the Cleveland Browns, vs. the New England Patriots, and at the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.

Houston Texans: What changes need to be made moving forward?

In moving forward the Texans might not gain many more wins, but there is hope for a couple victories this month as the Jaguars and Patriots are winnable games, but the games at Cleveland and against the Lions won’t be as simple to win.

Also moving forward for the Houston Texans they really need to play some of their younger players to see where those guys stand for going into next season, because being 1-6 overall, chances to make the playoffs are slim.

Houston needs to give players like rookie Isaiah Coulter some snaps on offense (as he’s been activated from the IR) at wide receiver, and Jacob Martin needs a larger role on defense too. Also Lonnie Johnson Jr. needs to be in a starting role, He’s made no starts in 2020 at strong safety, and compared to Eric Murray, it makes more sense for Houston to give more reps to Johnson and see what he can accomplish in a larger role.

With Martin it is a shame he’s only played in 177 snaps (36 percent) on defense, where he’s totaled two sacks, one tackle for loss, and two QB hits in that small amount of time. It is tough for a young player like Martin to get into an consistency on the field when he plays in just 36 percent of defensive snaps.

Eventually, the Houston Texans will need to decide if they are going to increase the playing time of the younger players or just put out more of the same in the final nine games. We all know coaches are trying to prove themselves to the front office to keep their jobs, but that mind set will hamper the improvement of players who need more time on the field.

The rest of the 2020 season will be something to watch moving forward, but it might be more of the same that we’ve watched thus far. Who knows, maybe the week away has refreshed the Texans and things will turn around, but for this season it would be nice to see more from the younger players.