It seems like the Houston Texans have a (not-so-secret) admirer in the Minnesota Vikings. For some reason, it seems like whenever the Vikings are in the news, it's somehow because of the connection that move has to the Texans. Now, players hop teams all the time, and so do coaches and executives, but it's a bit odd that it's happening this frequently between two teams.
It's not an outlandish amount of moves we're talking about, but certainly more than usual. It started with the Houston Texans losing Jonathan Greenard to the Vikings. A huge loss for the Texans and a big gain for the Vikings. The Vikings would then sign away linebacker Blake Cashman, who was a standout for the Texans in 2023.
That's not all, as Shaq Griffin, who spent the first half of the 2023 season with the Texans, was picked up by the Vikings as well. The defensive back had a solid season and helped the Vikings continue their overhaul of their defense. Then of course, there was the first-round pick they acquired from the Texans, as they took Houston's 2024 first-round pick in exchange for (essentially) two second-round picks (one this year, one next).
That's not all though, as the team also hired Josh McNown this offseason to be their quarterback coach. If you remember, McNown was not only a former quarterback for the Texans in 2020. That's not all, as McCown would then interview for the team's head coaching gig while still actively a player at the start of 2021, and then again in 2022 after incumbent coach David Culley was fired.
The action hasn't been completely one-sided, as the Texans did replace Greenard by signing Danielle Hunter, an impressive defensive end who had some fantastic seasons as a Viking. The Texans also recently acquired defensive back Kris Boyd, who spent a few years with the Vikings, leaving ahead of the 2023 season.
Is there a reason for all of this inter-squad movement? Are the Vikings this miffed over losing quarterback coach Jerrod Johnson to the Texans, and watching him be one of the reasons why Texans QB C.J. Stroud has become what he is? Was there an underreported personal move between the two teams? Is someone familiar with the roster on one team and wanting to see it on the other?
Or is there just respect between the two front offices, and a desire to do business with one another? Who knows the reason, we're just hoping that for the sake of the bit, there are more moves between the two teams.