The Texans Are Positioned For A MASSIVE Trade

Jonathan Taylor has 610 rushing yards this season by himself. The entire Houston Texans squad has 593. One running back on a 2-6 team has outrun a whole offense, and Houston knows it. Because this week, Albert Breer reported that the Texans have at least checked in on available running backs. The trade deadline is Tuesday, November 10th at 4 p.m. Eastern. That's in four days. And everybody is saying these three names. Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, and Breece Hall. And at 2-5 on the season, Houston is 11th in the AFC. There's no time to wait until March. But here's the problem. The names you want are typically the hardest ones to get. So let's find out which backs Houston could actually realistically trade for. And very quickly, if you are new here, we are currently at 3,300 subscribers, and we are trying to hit 4,000 by the end of the NFL season. So if you are not already subscribed, it would mean a lot if you were to do so. To see why Houston's calling, let's look at who's carrying the ball. David Montgomery, the back they traded for in March, has been out with a growing injury since week 5, and he's out again this Sunday against the Chargers. And remember what they paid for Montgomery. Juice Scruggs, and a 4th round pick, and a 7th back in March. He had 138 rushing yards before he got hurt, and he's still the second leading rusher on the team. DeMeco Ryans calls him week to week, which means Woody Marks is once again RB1. But Woody Marks is only averaging 3.5 yards a carry this season. To be fair to Marks, he's getting better. Over the last three games, he's averaged 61.3 rushing yards a game, obviously up from the 21.8% in the first four games whenever he was the backup. But against the Giants in the last game, it was 19 carries for just 66 yards in a loss in overtime. They even claimed a new back off of waivers last week, Emory Demarcado. That isn't a fix. That's a patch on a tire. And the whole team is at 3.6 yards a carry and 84.7 rushing yards a game. Think of it like a car with two flat tires. You can still drive it. You just can't go anywhere fast. Even D'Amico Ryans admitted that the jumbo package leans too hard on the run. His words, exactly. We've gotten kind of heavy on the run. Casario pointed out the line as well. His words, exactly. Run blocking more about finishing. But you cannot trade for finishing in four days. And it's wasting a quarterback who's playing very well. PFF has C.J. Stroud tied for third in the NFL with 16 big-time throws. When the defense does not respect the run, every single one of those throws by CJ gets harder. That is the struggle with only having 3.6 yards of carry. Now, back on October 26th, Nick Caserio said this. We're not going to see significant change with personnel until the offseason. But 11 days later, his team called about running backs. So something changed. The question is, how much can he spend? And the answer is not a lot. Houston has under $10 million in cap space right now. Here's the good news. In a mid-season trade, you only take on the salary that is owed to them for the rest of the season, not the entire year. Think of it like joining a gym in November. You don't pay for January to October. You pay for what's left. The bad news is next year, whatever you trade for, you pay for in 2027 and beyond, the rest of the contract. And if the money still doesn't fit, the contract goes back the other way. That's how most of these mid-season trades work. And to get anyone, you're going to need picks. Houston still owns its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round pick in 2027. What they don't have is much depth to throw in. Their 2027 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks are already gone. So, that's the shopping budget. Let's go down the list now, starting with the biggest names that Houston could trade for. Saquon Barkley. On paper, the Eagles look like a seller. They're 2-6 and they've lost 6 straight games. And this season has been rough for Saquon Barkley. 274 rushing yards in 6 games. Playing through hamstring and back problems. But the Eagles have told teams that he will not be traded before the trade deadline. And Barkley's been told that he's staying on the team. And even if they do pick up the phone, he's $9.88 million this year and $17.36 million in 2028. So cross him off. Barkley is a poster on the wall, not a trade target for the Houston Texans. He's not the only star back who's staying put. Dan Graziano at ESPN put Derrick Henry on the list of deadline names to watch. Henry's answer this week, I have not mentioned me going anywhere else. Which brings us to the guy from the cold open, Jonathan Taylor. 610 yards, an 8 rushing touchdown on a 2-6 Colts team. And he's done it bigger. His 1,811 rushing yards in 2021 are the most by any Colt in a season since 1999. Unlike Barkley, he might actually be available. The report price is a first round pick or a deal with one like San Francisco made for Christian McCaffrey. Then look at the contract. 16.19 million this year, 21.02 million in 2027, and 22.98 million in 2028. That 2027 number alone is more than double the cap space that Houston has today. And the Colts don't even save much. Trading him now clears $8.6 million and leaves $7.5 million of dead money behind. And here's the hardest part. The Colts are in the same division as the Houston Texans, so... The Colts trying to trade away their star player to a division rival that they see twice a year, they're going to need a deal that's going to blow them away. And SNY's source says Taylor will most likely stay throughout the season, with the trade being revisited in March. And Taylor himself on Thursday said, At this point, it just becomes noise. So Taylor is the dream. But a first round pick and $21 million owed next year is the asking price for that dream. But the third name is different. Brees Hall is a name that could actually be moved. The Jets are 2-6 and Hall is not their lead back right now. A quad injury has limited him to three games and he has 163 rushing yards. Braylon Allen currently has 565 for the team. He's at 3.2 yards a carry. Woody marks the guy Houston wants to upgrade on is at 3.5. So why would Houston want him? Because a back that has already been replaced on his team on a 2-6 squad is just the kind of player that a team might be willing to trade. Even the Jets' beat writer, Zach Rosenblatt, wrote that it makes sense to trade Brees Hall. And Breece Hall isn't hiding from it. His words, still a starter, still a very good running back in this league. And here's the twist. This same player the Jets franchise tagged at $14.3 million back in the spring. Now, the contract. He signed a three-year extension in May worth $45.75 million. So in six months, he went from being extended to being the backup running back, and this isn't a job that he lost because he forgot how to run. Brayden Allen saw an opportunity and ran with it. His cap hit is $11.49 million this year and $14.5 million next year, and reports say the third year has no guarantee. So it's not a forever commitment, it's basically a one and a half year season tryout, with a way out. And he's set to practice fully today. So, he looks healthy. That's one Houston can actually get. And if the Jets ask for too much, there's a cheaper option. And he plays in the same division as Houston. Tony Pollard. The Titans are 1-7 on the season. He has 595 rushing yards and 4.5 yards a carry. Nearly a full yard better than Woody Marks per carry. Put Tony Pollard's 4.5 next to his team's 3.6. And on 24 carries a game, that's about 22 extra yards they're getting every Sunday. Over the 10 games left, that's about 220 yards. That's not nothing. But it's not a new offense either. And his contract runs out after this season. 9.26 million in this year, and then he's a free agent. That's the whole appeal. No 2027 money, rent the legs out for 10 games, hand them back in March. The catch is Tennessee. Do you really hope the team they lost to 26-3 last month? And the rest of the list is thin. James Conner is on injury reserve. Kenny Gainwell has 289 rushing yards on 58 carries in Tampa Bay. So, here's what I land. Barkley isn't for sale. Taylor costs a first-round pick and $21 million next year. That leaves two real options. Brees Hall is the only one of those guys that their team has a reason to sell and whose contract has a way out. If I'm Casario, I'm calling the Jets about Brees Hall. Today before somebody else does. A team that has Allen running like that, that team will listen. Tony Pollard is the safe option. Brees Hall is the riskier one. But with this team being 2-5, I'm taking the riskier option. And Houston should not touch their first round pick. They have a third round pick in 2027. And for a back sitting behind Allen, that is where I would start the phone call. And it starts this Sunday against the Chargers. With David Montgomery being out, this is probably Woody Marks' last chance at the RB1 role. But as always, I want to know what your guys' thoughts are. Do you want Tony Pollard? Do you want Brees Hall? Or do you want somebody else? Because the trade deadline is Tuesday. And right now, Jonathan Taylor has more rushing yards than this entire team.