ESPN's blockbuster trade idea has Texans losing a veteran wide receiver

It's not Stefon Diggs, take a deep breath.

New England v Houston
New England v Houston | Wesley Hitt/GettyImages

The Texans have a lot of wide receivers. And do the Texans need all those wide receivers? TBD! It certainly never hurts to have pass catching depth but also, too many cooks in the kitchen, etc. When you have as many talented wide receivers as the Texans now have (what a world), you're always going to find yourself in the middle of trade rumors. And maybe they're not rumors as much as they are "random ideas," but no one likes a nitpicker.

So now we have the Texans, and all their great wide receivers, in the middle of trade rumors/random ideas. But it comes from ESPN, so it's legit. In a recent Bill Barnwell article named, "Post-NFL draft trades, signings that should happen: 10 deals" Barnwell looks at Houston's roster and sees a world where a big (ish) trade with the Lions could benefit both sides.


ESPN's blockbuster trade idea has Texans losing one of their great WRs

"The Texans are absolutely stacked at wide receiver. New addition Stefon Diggs is going to join incumbents Nico Collins and Tank Dell in the starting lineup, giving C.J. Stroud a three-man core that can compete with any other trio in football. Behind them, Houston has John Metchie, a player it traded up to acquire in the second round of the 2022 draft ... "

"The odd man out is likely going to be Woods, who doesn't play much on special teams and has a $6.3 million base salary this year. Only $1.3 million of that figure is guaranteed, but the Texans likely will release Woods if he doesn't take a pay cut for the remaining amount or retire."

As for the Texans' compensation, Barnwell notes that Houston probably wouldn't get much more than some salary cap relief and a few throwaway picks. Which seems fine for trading away WR5? It's not like Woods is going to have a huge role in Houston's offense this year, even with a major injury to one of their main guys. So as long as they don't trade him in-division, we're fine it. If the NFL is reading this, we approve the trade. It can now go through as planned.

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