This Bleacher Report trade makes no sense for the Houston Texans

One of the least impressive positions on the 2024 Houston Texans roster is at defensive tackle. The position is filled with potential, positional transfers, and underachieving veterans. All of these hope to come together and put together a competent unit good enough to live up to the expectations of a much-improved defense. That's the hope, we have no idea about the expectations.

Despite the first preseason games being days out, there are still some, ourselves included, who hope the Texans make a major signing or an even bigger trade to bring in a defensive tackle with a reputation worth getting excited about. We know some players are or will be available who can help the Texans' interior defense, yet it doesn't look like anyone is making moves to make things better.

Bleacher Report wanted to help with that, it appears. They came up with a player for every team in the NFL to trade for and it turns out the player they had in mind for the Texans isn't the get they think he is. That player is current Washington Commanders' defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.

Mathis is a former second-round pick who has been hampered by injuries and poor performances, leading to a dubious future for the big man. The term "potential" isn't directly used in the Bleacher Report piece, but that's the whole point of the trade; he's got an upside. Sadly, we're done with potential and upside from underperforming players. The Houston Texans aren't trying to be good, they're trying to be great.

Trading for a guy like Mathis doesn't make a single ounce of sense. He's not good enough to start for the Commanders and has been so unimpressive that the Commanders already drafted another defensive tackle in 2024 to replace Mathis. They don't have any faith in him, why should anyone else?

Clearly, he's not performing well enough in practice to get reps and that's saying something, as the Commanders were arguably the worst defense in the NFL last season. We're not sure how giving the Texans the worst player on the worst defense is going to improve Houston, but if it's that complicated to understand, we don't want him.

The Texans don't need young bad players to fill a roster space. They aren't the Commanders.