News broke Saturday morning that the Arizona Cardinals were trading Marvin Harrison Jr. Where was the wide receiver going? In a strange twist, Harrison's destination, along with the trade compensation, remained a mystery.
At least for a time.
Eventually, word trickled out that the Houston Texans were likely acquiring Harrison. After their 26-3 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed his team had landed the 24-year-old wide receiver, who was the fourth pick in the 2024 draft. The full details of the deal saw the Cardinals sending Harrison and a 2027 seventh-round draft pick to Houston for 2027 second- and sixth-round picks.
Why the delay in announcing the particulars? According to Texans general manager Nick Caserio, there wasn't one.
In a Wednesday morning interview with Houston radio station 95.7 The Fan, Caserio said he and Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort had been discussing a deal for a few weeks and agreed to it Friday.
However, Ossenfort wanted to "wait until after the game to communicate to (Harrison),'This is where you're going.'" Caserio said. "Which, no problem at all. There's a way of doing business, and a way to go about it. … The trade was done Friday night. We had to agree to the parameters. There were a few things we had to finalize and work out, (but) what happened (against Tennessee) had absolutely zero bearing on whether or not we were going to consummate the transaction.
"We're not going to agree to something, see what happens in the game, and then back out of it. We're not going to do that. I don't operate that way. We're not going to operate that way. … It was just the nature of how this transaction went."
Caserio said in the interview that he initiated contact with Ossenfort about Harrison's availability and reached out earlier this month to inquire about the wide receiver.
Caseiro and Ossenfort, who worked together for more than a decade in the New England Patriots' personnel department, have made multiple deals, so there was trust between the two.
"I wouldn't say they were actively shopping the guy or trading the guy, but part of our responsibility is to inquire and ask questions, and if a player is available, great. If he's not, he's not. So we had talked for a few weeks," Caserio said. "He and I agreed to the deal on Friday night. The deal was basically done. … I gave him my word. He gave me his word. That's how you do business. That's how he and I do business. But he wanted to handle it a certain way as it pertained to the communication and certain other things, so we certainly didn't have a problem with that at all."
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
