THE HOUSTON TEXANS dramatically reshaped their roster with a pair of stunning moves on Saturday, reportedly trading away Jadeveon Clowney and acquiring Laremy Tunsil.
Pass rusher Clowney, the first pick in the 2014 NFL draft, has been actively seeking a trade having refused to sign his franchise tender with the Texans.
He finally got his wish as Houston sent him to the Seattle Seahawks for what most deem a very meagre return. Seattle, reports say, only had to part with a third-round pick, linebacker Jacob Martin and pass rusher Barkevious Mingo to land Clowney.
For Seattle the deal is a significant coup and gives them a replacement for Frank Clark, who they traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in April.
Though they parted with one of their best defensive players, the Texans filled a huge need on the offensive line by trading for Tunsil.
NFL Network reported the Texans agreed to send two first-round picks and a second-rounder to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for left tackle Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills.
The deal is a clear sign the Dolphins are rebuilding, with a host of premier quarterback prospects set to be available in the 2020 draft.
Houston also announced trades to acquire running back Carlos Hyde from the Chiefs and cornerback Keion Crossen from the New England Patriots.
The Dolphins QBs are going to take some hammering this season behind what’s left of their offensive line. I was reading elsewhere that the Texans never negotiated a salary with Tunsil before the trade went through. Almost guaranteed they have to give him a massive long-term contract with the leverage he has over them now. The mess they made of trying to poach Caserio from the Patriots to be GM coming back to haunt them.
@john smyth: Texans are dysfunctional but I think they won after all these trades. Franchise left tackles are hard to come by and franchise QBs are even harder to come by. The Texans now have both. They needed to keep Watson healthy long term and not turn into the luck fiasco with the colts. The dolphins got a nice haul also. Will allow them to take tua and some lineman in the draft.
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: True. And they got Clowney out the door as well, something they needed to do even if they didn’t get huge riches for him.
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: Tunsil isn’t a great left tackle but the Dolphins got a great price for him. Texans should have gone after Trent Williams from the Redskins. Watching whether the Dolphins #TankForTua or #TankForTrevor over the next 2 years will be interesting to say the least!!
@Alan Boyle: Tunsil is a top 5 left tackle
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: they gave up more than the bears gave up for mack. While tunsil is an upgrade, he is not a generational player.. not even close.
To the Dolphins credit, if your gonna tank, you might as well go all out and make sure you get Tua, rather than risking winning 3/4 games and missing out
@Taos Hum: With the picks they have, it’s very tempting to wait for Trevor Lawrence. Trading down with a QB needy team and drafting Jerry Jeudy next year would be a great scenario. Definitely risky though
@Gary: Hard to sell two years of tanking though to fans, players and coaches. Get Tua and start building around him with all the picks they have.