The Houston Texans are finally within the OTAs period of their offseason, entering this summer, now getting their feet wet in their preparation for the season ahead and getting their newly-refurbished roster in the building after a wild few months of moves around the roster.
However, even as the Texans are getting back into the motions of team practices and building up this roster in the months ahead of Week One transpiring, it might not stop the Houston front office from making an interesting trade shake-up if the opportunity presents itself.
So if the Texans were to deal anyone on the roster, who could be the most likely?
In the eyes of Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport, the biggest trade candidate to watch may be wide receiver John Metchie III.
"It hasn’t been easy for Houston Texans wide receiver John Metchie III in the NFL," Davenport wrote. "The second-round pick in 2022 lost his entire rookie season after being diagnosed with cancer. He returned to the field the following year but has never been able to get untracked in Houston—Metchie has 412 yards on 40 receptions and one touchdown. He has never been on the field for more than half of Houston’s offensive snaps."
Simply put, there just doesn’t seem to be a path to real playing time for Metchie in Houston," Davenport continued. "But he is still just 24 years old—there’s still a chance he could find his NFL footing in a new home where he might actually see the field regularly. There were reports a year ago that multiple teams had inquired about Metchie’s availability. The Texans probably won’t get much for a contract-year receiver with his rather paltry resume, but at this point a trade could be the best thing for both player and team."
With Metchie's rough start in Houston, he's yet to truly be able to climb up the ranks of this depth chart to secure a premier role in this passing offense, despite entering the mix with an encouraging dose of potential to bank on.
During his last season with the Texans, he started in three games to log 24 receptions, 254 yards, and one touchdown, largely as a depth component across the start of the year before then generating a bit more traction toward's the latter half of the season. Still, his long-term outlook on this roster has remained bleak.
And now with two new rookies joining the fold in Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, Christian Kirk being the primary man in the slot, and of course, Nico Collins hauling in his fair share of targets, the opportunity seems to keep dwindling for Metchie, by virtually no fault of his own.
If Metchie isn't able to carve out a significant role within this Houston receiving corps for the season ahead, perhaps the best move for both sides could be an inevitable split in the event the Texans could receive an ample package in return.
