There seems to be a lot of pressure on the Houston Texans to make a trade this offseason and unload Dameon Pierce to a rival squad. It's not a logic that I'm completely behind, as the team isn't deep at the position and the acquisition of Joe Mixon doesn't guarantee success in the running game. None of this is a surprise, yet so many people seem to want the Texans to move on from Pierce.
Last Word on Sports recently published an article where they suggest the Texans send Pierce to the Dallas Cowboys or the Los Angeles Chargers, and if not them, the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, or the Baltimore Ravens.
Just about all of these teams are going to be clubs the Texans are going to have to worry about at some point this season, or, fingers crossed, this postseason. Trading Pierce to them on that idea alone makes this a non-starter, but what really makes this a non-starter is the fact the Texans don't have a deep backfield.
Yes, they drafted Jawhar Jordan in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but that's not a great pick if you're hoping to rely on him heavily. He's as close to 30 as he is 20, he doesn't have any single attribute that you can rely on and he's mostly here for return purposes. It'd be risky, downright illogical to think a sixth-round pick can carry the load as a number two, let alone as the starter for the team assuming Mixon goes down with an injury.
He could turn into something special, there is no crystal ball when it comes to talent development and execution, but you have to play the odds sometimes. Most sixth-rounders don't finish out their rookie contracts before getting cut or traded. Assuming that Jordan can carry the load that Pierce is capable of (hopefully) doing is too tall of an ask.
Keep Pierce and let him back up Mixon, it's the best and safest move. The team isn't hurting for cap space, so there isn't a good reason to just get rid of him. Plus, if he performs well in year three, he'll have a higher price tag for the next season, where it may make more sense to trade him.