Marvin Harrison Jr. is just fourth player Texans have traded for midseason. How did others work out?

Midseason trades are so rare in the NFL, the Houston Texans have very little track record of such moves in their franchise history.

When they acquired receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., from the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, it was just the fourth time in the the Texans’ 25-year history that they’ve made a trade for a player in the middle of a season. The team has made several October swaps in the past, but those mostly involved sending away players at the bottom of their roster – running back Cam Akers in 2024 – or in the doghouse – defensive end Charles Omenihu in 2021 and left tackle Duane Brown in 2017 – for draft picks.

Before the Harrison trade, the Texans had only brought back players in such trades three times: Receiver Derrick Mason in 2011, receiver Demaryius Thomas in 2018 and cornerback Gareon Conley in 2019.

In all three cases, the Texans felt optimistic about their chances of making a run if they filled a hole caused by injury, much like this year’s team that has been looking for a replacement to Jayden Higgins ever since the receiver tore his ACL in training camp.

Here’s how the Texans’ previous midseason trades for players worked out…

Gareon Conley, CB (2019)

The trade:

Acquired Conley from Raiders for a 2020 third-round pick (No. 91 overall)

This in-season trade is incredibly similar to the Marvin Harrison Jr., trade in that it involved a former first-round pick out of Ohio State who still hadn’t lived up to his billing in Year 3 in the league. The Texans were off to a 4-3 start in 2019 and had lost starting cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Johnathan Joseph to injury. They grabbed Conley, who played well for them in the second half of 2019, recording 27 tackles and 11 passes defended in eight games and six starts in Houston, which went on to win the AFC South. In the postseason, which ended with the blown lead at Kansas City in the divisional round, he had 10 tackles, a sack and three passed defended. Although he solidified the defensive backfield, Conley didn’t have his fifth-year option picked up by the Texans and he returned for $1.9 million. However, he spent all of 2020 on injured reserve and was out of the league a year later.

Demaryius Thomas, WR (2018)

The trade:

Acquired Demaryius Thomas and 2019 seventh-round pick (No. 220 overall) from Broncos for 2019 fourth-round pick (No. 125 overall) and 2019 seventh-round pick (No. 237 overall)

The Texans were riding a five-game winning streak after losing three straight to open the season and Deshaun Watson was looking like the real deal when No. 2 receiver Will Fuller tore his ACL, leaving the Texans with basically no help for DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans got aggressive and sent a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for former Pro Bowl receiver Demaryius Thomas. The 30-year-old looked like he might be the answer, catching 23 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns in his first seven games in Houston, but he tore his Achilles in December and had to watch from the sidelines as the Texans won the AFC South, but lost to the Colts in the wild-card round. Thomas, who died in 2021, was released following the season and retired after playing 11 games for the New York Jets in 2019.

Derrick Mason, WR (2011)

The trade: Acquired Derrick Mason from Jets for a conditional seventh-round pick that never conveyed

This midseason trade didn’t work out, but it also ended up costing nothing. The Texans, who still were looking for the first winning season in franchise history, got off to a 3-2 start, but All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson had just injured his hamstring, an injury that would sideline him six weeks. Desperate for receiver help, the Texans made a deal for the 37-year-old Mason, who proved to have nothing left in the tank. Mason had an excellent career with the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, but didn’t even make it through the season in Houston. Mason, who retired at the end of the year, caught just six passes in seven games and was released in December, while the Texans eventually got Johnson back and made the playoffs for the first time, losing to the Ravens in the divisional round. Mason’s lack of production meant the Texans didn’t have to send the Jets any draft compensation in the trade.

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This article originally published at Marvin Harrison Jr. is just fourth player Texans have traded for midseason. How did others work out?.