After a narrow victory in Week 8 over the Indianapolis Colts, the Houston Texans came away having mixed feelings.
While the win was great to get, it was, indeed, narrow. And, it came against a team with a definite quarterback controversy after another erratice Anthony Richardson performance.
But, again, they got the win, and that's what matters.
Now, the bad news came when wide receiver Stefon Diggs appeared to have suffered a non-contact knee injury during the game. Afterwards, there were many fans and media who thought the same thing ... and, on Tuesday, the Texans' wost fear was confirmed.
Diggs was officially diagnosed with a torn ACL, which will put him out for the remainder of the season and will significantly impact the Texans' Super Bowl hopes going forward.
Immediately after the Diggs news, plenty of fans jumped to the conclusion that the Texans would go out and try to make a trade for someone like Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The only problem?
Moments after the Diggs news broke, Johnson was off the trade market. Carolina dealt Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens in a trade that will have Texans fans fuming. The Panthers sent Johnson, along with a sixth-round pick over to Baltimore, in exchange for a fifth rounder.
Yep, all it took was a late-round pick swap to get that deal done. So, now what? Where do the Texans turn in wake of the Diggs news?
The Texans need to take the wise route at the NFL trade deadline, despite losing Stefon Diggs
Losing Diggs definitely hurts. However, there are some factors at play here. First of all, Houston would be foolish to shell out anything of merit in order to get one of the other wide receivers currently on the block. Those remaining names include: Darius Slayton (NYG), Mike Williams (NYJ) and maybe someone like Treylon Burks (TEN).
There aren't many other names that have been floated around, unless you truly buy into the idea that Cooper Kupp is available while the Rams are still in the thick of the NFC West race.
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For now, though, Houston should stand pat at the trade deadline in reference to the wide receiver position. This room was built deep for a reason, and it's a room that will soon have Nico Collins back -- just in time.
Although Tank Dell hasn't been himself this year and the other unproven guys like Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie have yet to break out, that's more due to a lack of opportunity. Hutchinson and Metchie have shown some things when given opportunities, and now, they'll get even more.
Don't count out a resurgence and improvement out of Dell, and also do not forget about the crafty veteran, Robert Woods.
This room is incredibly deep even without Diggs. If there were a strong option available on the trade market, still, then yes, the Texans should be players. But, even if they were to go in on Kupp for a second rounder, that would be a mistake.
For right now, the move is to do nothing.