The Houston Texans have traded wide receiver John Metchie to the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Adam Schefter. The news was announced on Sunday afternoon and, to Texans fans, it probably won't come as too much of a shock.
Metchie, a second-round pick by the Texans in the 2022 NFL Draft, missed his rookie year due to a battle with leukemia. In 2023, he appeared in 16 games and caught 16 passes for 158 yards and in 2024, he appeared in 13 games and snagged 24 receptions for 254 yards and his first career touchdown.
Despite Metchie being a Day 2 draft pick, his numbers weren't where the Texans wanted them to be. With the promising performances of Iowa State rookies Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins this summer paired with Nico Collins and Christian Kirk already on the roster, the Texans clearly felt they were in a great position to make this trade.
Texans make a statement by trading John Metchie to Eagles
Metchie showed strong potential during his college days at Alabama but unfortunately, that never showed during his time in Houston. He still has a chance to be a productive wide receiver but the Texans have other players they're hoping to lean on now.
This is honestly a pretty good trade for both sides. While we don't know what the Texans are getting back yet, Metchie probably wasn't going to get a ton of playing time in Houston with the other players the team has on the roster so getting anything for him before he left in free agency for nothing was a win.
Meanwhile, Metchie gets to go to Philadelphia, a team fresh off a Super Bowl win and catch passes from Jalen Hurts. The Eagles needed help behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Metchie has the potential to give them added depth to their already stacked wide receiver room.
We'll see if the Texans go on to regret this decision but given the production Metchie had early on, it wasn't a fit. Maybe he'll be a star in Philly but if the team wasn't planning on extending him, then getting something for him now was the right call.