In a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Houston Texans have helped the Green Bay Packers in their quest to make Aaron Rodgers happy again by trading them veteran wide receiver Randall Cobb.
Both the Texans and Packers have had stressful offseason situations with their quarterbacks as the Houston Texans have not only the off-the-field issues from Deshaun Watson, but the quarterback also has asked to be traded.
Over in Green Bay, reports have been busy as well about Aaron Rodgers, as the JEOPARDY! guest host is not pleased with many things with the Packers’ franchise as well, resulting in many questions surrounding his return to the team in Wisconsin.
Leave it to the Texans to help out the reigning NFL MVP as they are trading the veteran slot receiver Cobb to the Green Bay, and with that the best part is Cobb’s contract is leaving Houston as well. Cobb last offseason agreed to a contract for three years and $27 million with $18 million guaranteed from since fired general manager Bill O’Brien, who is now the offensive coordinator at Alabama.
Cobb in his one season with the Houston Texans finished with 38 receptions for 441 yards and three touchdowns in 10 total games, including two starts. Before this trade, the Texans made another trade where they added Anthony Miller of the Chicago Bears.
A welcome-back gift for Aaron Rodgers: the Texans are trading former Packers’ WR Randall Cobb back to Green Bay, per Randall Cobb. Cobb has been a longtime favorite of Rodgers.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2021
But this trade’s for Aaron.
The trade for the slot receiver Miller left Cobb as a expendable player, and the Packers made the deal to help their situation with their quarterback. Remember, Green Bay was one win away from reaching the Super Bowl last season (and the No. 1 seed in the NFC), so if this is what it takes to keep Rodgers from making franchise changing choices, then Green Bay made the correct decision for their franchise in 2021.
Houston did well in this deal by just getting Cobb’s contract off the books, though the deal isn’t 100-percent official and details of this trade haven’t been disclosed.
The Houston Texans haven’t been afraid to make trades and roster changes under new general manager Nick Caserio who was hired this offseason. Caserio is doing his best to build a new and improved roster in Houston in ’21, and trading a 30-year old receiver who had been on the roster for just one season works well for the roster rebuild.
Houston has a lot of work ahead of them to make the roster competitive in the AFC South once again, and the change at wide receiver compared to last season is noticeable as not only will Cobb be gone once the deal is finalized, but also Will Fuller wasn’t resigned in free agency.
The trade of Cobb is best for both the Texans and for Cobb as Houston continues their rebuild, plus Cobb now plays for a Super Bowl contender and a future Hall of Fame selection in his 11th NFL season.