HOUSTON – Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans underscored the reality about the NFL trade deadline and emphasized it takes two willing negotiators to hammer out a deal.
In the case of the Texans, they were never going to be major buyers and sellers at the deadline. They made a big offseason move to acquire four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who’s now out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. They had limited salary-cap space, roughly $5.4 million available, to acquire a big contract. They needed help at offensive guard, but didn’t make a big move on available guards, including the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Brandon Scherff, the Chicago Bears’ Nate Davis and the Cleveland Browns’ Wyatt Teller.
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Financially, it just wasn’t feasible and would have involved restructuring contracts of current players to create space. Plus, there’s the unknown of high asking prices in terms of draft capital.
So, the Texans’ lone move was trading backup defensive tackle Khalil Davis to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick, per a league source.
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on trading defensive tackle Khalil Davis to #49ers for 2026 seventh round pick @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/G2H0bLWn5x
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 7, 2024
Ryans was asked if he needed to emphasize to the team after the trade deadline that this is the way the roster is going to be and his confidence in the current players of the 6-3 Texans, the defending AFC South champions.
“I didn’t emphasize anything to our team,” Ryans said. “We have the guys we have. I mean, everybody thinks the trade deadline comes and you’re going to – it’s find this guy who is going to save your team. I don’t see it that way. Transactions were made across the League. And there has to be two parties available to do a trade.
“Everybody’s antsy about trades. It’s not just us going and taking somebody from another team. People have to be available and the trade has to be on good terms for everyone. So, I know everybody’s in an uproar about us trading at the deadline. It’s like it’s not from a lack of us working to get our team better and improve our team, but there’s no savior coming to save our team and there has to be two parties involved in trading.”
The 49ers did a significant amount of background work on Davis before making this move with Texans general manager Nick Caserio.
The Texans get defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. back from a four-game suspension after the Detroit Lions game.
With Edwards’ pending return, the Texans have enough depth at the position.
“Khalil, I mean, he did a great job for us,” Ryans said. “When we got Khalil here, I thought he did a great job of taking advantage of his opportunity and he really honed in on what we were asking him to do and he continued to get better. As he’s played for us these past two years, he’s gotten better and he helped us tremendously win some games. And he got better as a player. So, trades and those things, they happen. Hate to lose him, but it’s a good opportunity for him.”
Source: Texans trade Khalil Davis to 49ers for seventh-round pick
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 click2houston.com.
