Yes, the trade that sent receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. from the Cardinals to the Texans was fully in place before Sunday. As it turns out, it was fully in place before Saturday.
Via Cole Thompson of USA Today, Texans G.M. Nick Caserio said in an appearance on 95.7 The Fan in Houston that the trade was finalized on Friday evening. Caserio said that the Cardinals wanted to wait until Sunday to announce it.
Most importantly, Caserio pushed back against the theory that the deal hinged on the Texans beating the Titans on Sunday.
“What happened in the game had zero bearing on the outcome,” Caserio said. “Like, we’re not going to agree to something and then see what happens in a game and then back out of it.”
Caserio’s comments make the initial half-report from ESPNFL even more bizarre. It’s possible, if not likely, that the folks who broke the news that the Cardinals would be trading Harrison but who didn’t identify the destination knew damn well where Harrison was going, but agreed not to name the Texans as part of the dealmaking that often happens when, coincidentally, the #insiders trade discretion for future considerations.
It didn’t take much effort (which qualified me for the assignment) to get to the bottom of the question of where Harrison was being traded.
Bottom line? Per Caserio, the deal was done on Friday night. By Saturday morning, only part of the story was reported as part of the first news that Harrison’s time in Arizona had ended. It made no sense then, and it makes even less sense now.