
Maliek Collins is heading to San Francisco. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
With free agency in full swing, the Texans caught a lot of people off guard when they opted to trade for Bengals running back Joe Mixon instead of addressing the need in free agency on Tuesday.
Well, it only took one more day for the Texans to be active on the trade market once again. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Texans are trading defensive tackle Maliek Collins to the 49ers for a 7th round pick.
Compensation update: 49ers are trading a 7th-round pick to the Texans for Maliek Collins, per source. https://t.co/XGzb7ktxqI
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2024
Houston signed Titans defensive lineman Denico Autrey earlier this week, so perhaps DeMeco Ryans will have him fill the role left with Collins' departure.
Or, the Texans are reportedly interested in signing 49ers defensive tackle Arik Armstead who is expected to be released by the 49ers.
#Texans to trade defensive tackle Maliek Collins to #49ers per a league source. #Texans among teams including #Bengals and #Lions with interest in Arik Armstead who hasn't been released officially yet @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 13, 2024
Another option could be the return of Sheldon Rankins who played well for the Texans in 2023. Either way, it appears there's another move coming, but we can only speculate at this point.
How much cap space will they save?
Not all that much in 2024 according to Texans Cap. He believes this trade should save the Texans a little over 2.5 million this season.
Collins trade will generate $2.55m net cap savings for 2024. https://t.co/9R7jcN9kwV
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) March 13, 2024
It's unfortunate that Collins was traded with the Texans looking like a playoff team on the rise. But if you have to get traded, heading to a perennial Super Bowl contender should soften the blow.
Marcus Semien hit his 250th career home run and Adolis García also went deep to back up a strong start by Nathan Eovaldi and give the Texas Rangers a 5-1, series clinching victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Eovaldi (7-3) limited Houston to five hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for his third straight win.
Houston starter Hunter Brown (9-4) allowed five hits and four runs while striking out eight in five innings as the AL West leaders lost for the fifth time in six games. It was the second straight tough outing for the All-Star, who gave up a season-high six runs in his last start against Cleveland.
Wyatt Langford walked to open the second and the Rangers made it 1-0 when he scored on a triple by Evan Carter. There were two outs in the inning when Carter scored on a ground-rule double by Ezequiel Duran to push the lead to 2-0.García’s third homer in the last four games put Texas ahead 3-0 with two outs in the third inning.
Carter doubled to start the fourth and Kyle Higashioka singled before Carter scored on a sacrifice fly by Alejandro Osuna to make it 4-0.
The Astros cut it to 4-1 on a home run by Zack Short with no outs in the sixth inning.
Semien’s shot with one out in the eighth inning was his second of the series and gave him 250 in his 13-year career.
Key moment
Texas jumping on Brown for two runs in the second inning to take the lead for good.
Key stat
García’s 20 home runs against the Astros since 2021 are the most of any player in that span.
Up next
The Astros open the second half of the season Friday night at Seattle, and the Rangers host Detroit on the same night.