Three Houston Texans trade candidates ahead of cutdown day

All off-season you’ve heard talk of Dameon Pierce, Davis Mills, or Robert Woods being trade candidates for the Houston Texans. While that may be true, they aren’t the only trade candidates on the Texans roster. Between expiring contracts and roster battles everywhere, Houston has a plethora of trade candidates.

The Texans have $17M in cap space right now, according to Spotrac. With many quality free agents/trade candidates still available around the league, even the final 53-man roster at the 4:00 PM deadline may not be what they put on the field in Week 1. Let’s take a look at three other players the Texans could ship away next week in an attempt to add talent elsewhere.

Wide receiver Noah Brown

Brown is one of 11 receivers on the Texans roster, and you can certainly say eight of them are fighting for only a handful of spots on the roster. Brown is entering his second year in Houston and had a very good year in 2023. He totaled 567 yards and two touchdowns on 33 receptions. Brown seems to be in a battle with Ben Skowronek, John Metchie III, and Xavier Hutchinson for the last two wide receiver spots, and with the preseason/training camp that Hutchinson and Metchie are having, it’s hard not to keep both of them. 

Quarterback Case Keenum 

I think we can all confidently say that Davis Mills has won the backup job, which leaves Keenum looking for his eighth team in his career. Keenum has plenty of experience with being traded, as he’s been traded three times in his career. As Stroud enters his second season in the league, it’s clear that he doesn’t need a veteran in the room anymore to help him navigate being a professional quarterback. However, other teams do. And they could come calling for an experienced player like Keenum who is 1) on a cheap contract, and 2) wouldn’t cost much in a trade. 

Offensive lineman Kendrick Green

Green just came over in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers last year and started in three of the four games he was active for. Green has had an injury-riddled start to his young career, missing his 2022 season, and most of his 2023 season. Entering year four now, the Texans' offensive line has become quite deep. With the additions of rookie Blake Fisher and Cam Erving, along with Kenyon Green assuming the starting guard position, Kendrick Green may not have a role on this roster. Another deadline deal for the 25-year-old lineman may be in the not-too-distant future.