Many people woke up Saturday morning to ESPN insider Adam Schefter’s tweet that the Arizona Cardinals were “finalizing a deal to trade” Marvin Harrison Jr.
A trade made in principle, but not yet official
The first report from Schefter left a lot to the imagination. He reported that Arizona was finalizing a deal involving Harrison, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but did not provide information on the trade partner or the assets that would return to the Cardinals. The only detail included is Harrison’s expected inactive status for Sunday’s contest against Detroit.
ESPN senior national insider Jeremy Fowler even had a theory on Oct. 10, tweeting, “One question with Houston. Is a deal contingent on winning Sunday? Falling to 0-5 would seemingly make a splash trade less attractive.”
Nick Caserio clarified questions about the trade timeline
Those rumors were buried when Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio appeared on Houston radio station 95.7 The Fan Wednesday morning to clarify all about the trade.
“The trade was made on Friday night. We had to agree on the parameters,” Caserio said, via The Athletic’s Jim Ayello. “There are some things we need to finish and work out (but) what happened (against Tennessee) has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not we’re going to go through with the transaction.
“We’re not going to agree to something, see what happens in the game, and then come back to it. We’re not going to do that. I’m not going to operate that way. We’re not going to operate that way. … It’s just the nature of how this transaction went.”
The trade speculation surrounding Harrison Jr. had been building for several weeks, but it intensified on September 23 when he made a dramatic change in the field. According to the NFLPA’s online database (h/t ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss), Harrison has added veteran agents Todd France and Tory Dandy to represent him.
The move raised eyebrows in league circles because Harrison had previously navigated his professional career without certified representation, leading many to wonder if a major development, such as a potential trade, was on the horizon.