Corner on the market
Trade of veteran corner reaffirms team’s commitment to rebuilding
Bradley Roby is about to be dealt to the Saints.
The Texans are trading cornerback Bradley Roby to the Saints, a person with knowledge of the transaction confirmed Wednesday.
The terms have not yet been disclosed, and coach David Culley confirmed that “talks are still going on right now.”
Roby, an eight-year NFL veteran, has been a starter the last two seasons, and his departure could clear considerable space on the rebuilding franchise’s books. It also will leave open a spot likely to be filled by reserve corner Vernon Hargreaves.
The deal, once finalized, will be GM Nick Caserio’s most high-profile trade since training camp began. The 29-year-old former Bronco was the team’s top cornerback, and his departure is another signal that the Texans are in full rebuild mode.
Caserio was candid about the franchise’s future last week when he said he’s viewing the upcoming season with a more “processoriented” approach than a “results-oriented” approach. It’s a locker room situation he and Culley must handle when high-profile contributors like Roby are moved.
Caserio and Culley have maintained that they’re fostering a competitive culture on Kirby Drive, a goal with a long-term focus that can be difficult to reconcile in the short term when trading key pieces like Roby.
“Players always look at it as ‘everything is now,’ ” Culley said. “Every time we go out to play a game, we go out to win. We feel like the guys we’re playing with right now are good enough to do that with. That’s how they see it. They don’t look at it with the big picture as sometimes maybe you do from an administrative point and that kind of thing. They look at it as they’re going to play and they’re going out try and win the game, and they see it that way.”
Several Texans players voiced their reactions about the trade on social media. Backup safety Lonnie Johnson posted on Twitter: “(Expletive) krazy and I don’t understand it.”
Wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who pointed out he’s been traded three times in his career, said “we all know it’s a business” and that “it’s not hard” to focus on the day-to-day when such trades are made.
“We’ve just got to focus on doing our job,” Cooks said. “And like I said, those types of things, those decisions, we’ve got to leave in the hands of the organization and Nick and his staff. We’ve got to continue to stay focused on the task at hand.”
The Texans now have five cornerbacks on their active roster entering Sunday’s season opener against the Jaguars at NRG Stadium. None have the credentials of Roby, who has played in nearly 100 NFL games and won a Super Bowl with the Broncos.
Caserio signed former Browns starter Terrance Mitchell to a two-year deal, and Hargreaves was expected to start in Sunday’s opener against the Jaguars alongside Mitchell while Roby served the final game of a six-game suspension he received last year for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy.
Hargreaves, a seven-year NFL veteran, started in all 16 games for the Texans in 2020 and recorded seven pass deflections and an interception.
The Texans could turn to their Tuesday acquisitions to provide depth at cornerback. The franchise claimed cornerback Jimmy Moreland and signed Cre’Von LeBlanc to the practice squad. LeBlanc was cut by the Dolphins last week, and Moreland was waived Monday by the Washington Football Team with an injury settlement.
Moreland, a 2019 seventh-round pick out of James Madison, played 30 games in two seasons with Washington and started in 10. The 5-11, 182-pound corner recorded 86 total tackles and an interception last season.
LeBlanc, a seven-year NFL veteran, played 52 career games for the Bears, Lions and Eagles, with 16 total starts. He has recorded 18 passes defensed and two interceptions in his career.
Culley said it’s uncertain whether Moreland and LeBlanc will be ready in time to play against the Jaguars.
Moreland was entering the third year of a four-year, $2.6 million contract before Washington waived him in training camp. His acquisition signaled an emphasis by Caserio to boost depth at the position.
Caserio traded fourthyear veteran Keion Crossen to the Giants for a 2023 sixth-round draft pick on Aug. 16 and subsequently signed Rasul Douglas and acquired Ka’Darr Hollman in an exchange with the Packers for a 2022 seventhround pick.
Caserio cut Douglas and Hollman last week when the Texans narrowed their roster to meet the NFL’s 53man limit.
Despite the considerable depth hit at cornerback, unless the Texans yield another player from the Saints depending on the pending final terms, the Texans would receive significant financial relief by moving Roby.
He was entering the second year of a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Texans, and the trade temporarily creates just over $9 million in the salary cap for the 2021 season and reduces the franchise’s dead money hits to about $1 million in both 2021 and 2022.
Culley demurred when a reporter questioned whether the Texans would be shopping any other veterans as the regular season begins.
“Well, I don’t think we’re shopping anybody,” Culley said. “I think what happens is people make calls. People try to get their team better. We try to get our team better. People have different conversations. Sometimes things come up that may work for both of you, and if it does, then you make a deal. As far as shopping, we’re not shopping.”