The trade market could benefit the Texans. Composite Getty Image.
It was a busy day in the NFL on Tuesday, as teams had to make their final decisions on whether to use the franchise tag. The Houston Texans opted not to use the tag, but did agree to a 3-year, $36 million contract extension with tight end Dalton Schultz.
Which means several of the team's top defenders will hit the market in free agency, unless they are able to get a deal done by Wednesday, March 13 before 4PM/ET. DE Jonathan Greenard, CB Steven Nelson, and LB Blake Cashman will be coveted by other teams, and certainly missed if the Texans are unable to bring them back.
Corners Tavierre Thomas, and Desmond King are also set to be free agents. Meaning, Derek Stingley is the only legitimate corner currently on the roster. And as good as he was last season, he has missed 14 games in his two-year career.
The Kansas City Chiefs also had some tough choices to make this week, choosing to use the franchise tag on their elite corner Ladarius Snead. Which means defensive lineman Chris Jones will be a highly sought after free agent when the legal tampering period begins on Monday.
What's interesting about Snead is the Chiefs are reportedly willing to trade him if they can't sign him to a long-term contract. Bleacher Report recently published an article naming seven teams that should pursue Snead on the trade market, with Houston being one of those teams.
Which makes a ton of sense considering the Texans are short-handed at corner and have a ton of cap space even after the Schultz and Ka'imi Fairbairn (3-year, $15.9 million) contracts.
And cap space they will need because Snead will carry a 2024 cap hit of $19.8 million if he remains on the franchise tag. Of course, the goal would be to sign him to an extension. But even when they do that, he'll command a salary of around $20 million per year.
Which is what teams should expect to pay for an elite corner that's in the prime of his career.
How much will the Texans have to give up in a trade?
Via: Bleacher Report:
In a vacuum, Sneed is probably worth a first-round draft pick. That may be where Kansas City starts its negotiations.
Although Sneed has never been named to the Pro Bowl, he was easily one of the NFL's top cover corners in 2023. The 27-year-old allowed an opposing passer rating of only 56.2 in coverage, and he didn't allow a single touchdown during the regular season despite being targeted 100 times.
A first round pick feels a little sporty if the Texans are going to have to pay him a top of the market corner salary. In the video below, they reference an article from Texans Wire that addresses the compensation. Would Kansas City be willing to take a second-round pick? Or perhaps the Chiefs (No. 32) swap first-round picks with Houston (No. 23), and the Texans throw in a third-rounder to get the deal done.
It may sound like a lot, but this would arguably give the Texans the best corner duo in the NFL. And keep in mind, the Texans are going to have to attack this position one way or another with only Stingley in the fold currently.
They could do a blockbuster trade for Snead that would cost them draft picks and a salary of around $20 a year.
Or, they could go after a soon-to-be free agent like Steven Nelson, that would cost around half that.
The draft is another way they could go, which means you're surrendering a first or second round pick for a prospect that may or may not pan out.
Whichever way they choose to proceed, they have to add two starting-caliber corners to the roster.
Be sure to check out the video above for all the pros and cons of pulling off a blockbuster trade for Snead.
How Houston Rockets hold the cards for a franchise-changing summer
May 8, 2025, 5:45 pm
It’s been a slog on the treadmill of mediocrity for the Astros thus far in 2025. Their 18-18 record heading into a weekend series at Daikin Park vs. the Reds is appropriate. Plenty of good teams will have similar stretches this season. The Astros have to prove that this year’s edition is a good team. Plenty of time for that remains. Reminder that the breakout 2017 Astros had a 74-game stretch over which they went 37-37. 162 games allow for a lot of ebb and flow. Of course, the 2025 Astros’ roster is not close to that of the 2017 squad. The point isn’t that this time could be a 101-game winner but that the 88 victories good enough for a playoff spot last year are still quite plausible this year.
The Rockets achieved mediocrity last season after three seasons as a laughingstock. This season they made the leap to good. While curling up and succumbing to Golden State in the decisive game seven of their first-round playoff series was a disappointment, the Rockets are in excellent position moving forward. Where they go from here should be quite interesting,
OF COURSE the Rockets are going to explore trading Jalen Green. He is obviously their most physically gifted player, but his consistent inconsistency is exasperating. Green’s series against the Warriors was basically an embarrassment with the exception of his 38-point game two outburst. The other six games, a meager nine-point-two points per game. That Green is still just 23 years old means it is not near obligatory they move on from him as Green starts a three-year 105 million dollar contract extension. However, the state of his game and comparison to a few specific players cast enough doubt about Green’s ceiling that declaring him “untouchable” would be ridiculous. During the Golden State series, an NBA play-by-play guy who I think is very good overall once referred to Green as the “Rockets’ superstar.” Anyone, including Green himself, who calls him a superstar either misspoke, was caught up in a moment, or is clueless.
Jalen Green just finished his fourth NBA season. Fairness requires noting that his first two seasons were compromised by being on atrocious Rockets’ squads. That said, Green was on 41-41 and 52-30 teams the past two seasons. In neither of him did he shoot a league average percentage either overall or from behind the three-point line. He did approach the three-point league average of 36 percentage made with his 35.4. That Green is an 80 percent career free throw shooter gives hope the three-point shooting can further develop. Better shot selection sure would help.
Green was the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, one year removed from high school. The player taken ahead of him was Cade Cunningham who also played just one year out of high school before going NBA. Cunningham joined a joke Detroit Pistons team. Cunningham is a much better player than Green at this point.
Other shooting guards who played one year after high school then jumped to the NBA, who were markedly ahead of Green after four NBA seasons include Anthony Edwards (first pick in his draft class), and Shae Gilgeous-Alexander (11th), and Devin Booker (13th). In comparison to each Green is a disappointment, though certainly not a bust.
What is head coach Ime Udoka’s bottom-line belief in Green fulfilling his potential? My guess is that cup is not overflowing. The Rockets’ half-court offense simply is not of championship caliber. Can it evolve there with Green, or is he better used as a piece in a trade offer with other players plus draft picks for a Booker or Kevin Duran? The Phoenix Suns are a near assets-less mess of a franchise in dire need of a reset. Durant will be 37 years old when next season starts, but is still a tremendous offensive player who would be a gargantuan half-court offense upgrade for the Rockets. The Rockets have so much draft capital that offering two or three first round picks plus Green, Cam Whitmore, and another player or two to make the salary cap math work would A: not empty out the Rockets’ flexibility going forward and B: have to get the Suns’ attention. If I’m Udoka and General Manager Rafael Stone, I’m making the call.
Courtesy of the Suns, the Rockets hold what is currently the ninth pick in the NBA Draft. The draft lottery is Monday night. The Rockets’ have a three-point-eight percent chance of winning it and the right to make Duke freshman superstar (and Final Four loser to UH) Cooper Flagg the number one pick. There is a 13.5 percent chance the Rockets move up to pick two, three, or four. Otherwise, it’s ninth, or lower if another team or teams vault up the lottery board.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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