The Arizona Cardinals are trading Marvin Harrison Jr. — we just have no idea which team he'll be with after Week 5. In one of the more bizarre trade developments in recent NFL memory, insiders Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that Harrison, the former No. 4 overall pick, will be traded and will be inactive for the Cardinals' Week 5 matchup against the Lions. However, no trade is finalized yet, which means we also don't know with any certainty which team is trading for Harrison.
It's rare to see a trade being reported without a destination attached, but the Harrison Jr. situation in Arizona was clearly leading to this point. His lack of production and success with the Cardinals has been baffling given his pre-draft pedigree and talent. He's been highlighted as a prime change-of-scenery candidate, but we just don't know what that change of scenery will look like. There might be a deal in place, but Arizona wants to keep open the possibility for more offers. Or maybe they're weighing multiple trade offers. Let's unpack everything we know and dive as fully into this situation with Marvin Harrison Jr. and the inevitable trade.
Latest Marvin Harrison Jr. trade rumors: Texans the favorites, Colts out
Again, it needs to be noted that there is no confirmed trade destination for Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Schefter, Rapoport and even Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk — the latter being the most authoritative with this rumor — have said that the Houston Texans are currently the most likely landing spot for the former top-five picks.
Florio has reported that, as of now, a potential trade between the Cardinals and Texans would send Arizona a 2028 second-round pick as the centerpiece of the trade for Harrison. Reports throughout the week have indicated that the Cardinals continue to seek a 2027 second-round pick. Florio also further noted that Arizona is waiting to finalize this trade in such a strange manner, as they could be hoping to get more from Houston or that another team will swoop in and match their asking price.
Rapoport and Schefter also alluded to that possibility regarding the delay in details as well.
Regardless, Harrison Jr. being traded to the Texans would reunite him with his former Ohio State quarterback, C.J. Stroud, and give Houston far needed depth at wide receiver. The offense has struggled mightily amid the team's shocking 0-4 start whenever Nico Collins has been unavailable. They'd be banking on the talent of Harrison to be awoken with the familiarity he has with Stroud and in a new offense in hopes of saving their season.
Another report that came down the wire is that the Indianapolis Colts, one of the other potential fits for a Harrison trade, are not the ones making this deal. ESPN's Colts insider, Stephen Holder, reported that the Colts are not the team involved in this deal as they balked at the Cardinals' asking price of a second-round pick. Given some of the trades, most notably the Sauce Gardner deal, that Indianapolis has made recently, that does make a great deal of sense as they don't want to mortgage more premium draft capital.
If not the Texans, which other NFL teams could be in on a Marvin Harrison Jr. trade?
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs offense has been reinvigorated by the arrival of Kenneth Walker III, which has helped Patrick Mahomes find his footing in his return from a season-ending knee injury a year ago. However, with Tyquan Thornton out, the Chiefs are shockingly barren in terms of receiver depth that they can trust. That's led to plenty of speculation about a potential return for Tyreek Hill, but Harrison Jr. would be another swing that Brent Veach could take in this capacity as the Chiefs once again try to push for a Super Bowl title.
Las Vegas Raiders
Even coming off the loss last week to the aforementioned Chiefs, the Raiders have been one of the best surprises of the season. Kirk Cousins is playing extremely well and Las Vegas may have arrived sooner than expected. The wide receiver room, however, is lacking severely. Their top two pass-catchers are their tight ends, Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer. Adding someone like Harrison and rolling the dice on a former top-five pick could make complete sense for this team as they aim to arrive even more desicively and swfitly as a legitimate playoff contender.
Minnesota Vikings
We saw what the Minnesota Vikings offense looks like without Justin Jefferson last week, and it's clear that the receiver room is quite shallow. Jefferson and Jordan Addison are terrific players, but the drop-off beyond them is stark. While there are still questions about Kyler Murray's viability throughout the rest of this season, the team is off to a hot start in the 2026 campaign and could be looking to make an aggressive move such as this to give their offense even more bite in an area where depth is needed.
Miami Dolphins
Obviously, the Dolphins wouldn't be acquiring Marvin Harrison Jr. with the same outlook as the other teams mentioned here — but that doesn't make it any less intriguing for Miami. If the brass for the Dolphins believes in the upside of Harrison with a change of scenery, they would have the opportunity to add a potentially elite talent at wide receiver when they have so little at the skill positions to further give Malik Willis a chance to prove himself while also possibly adding a building block for the future of this rebuild.
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