ESPN decided to outrage the football universe on Saturday morning when various insiders reported that Marvin Harrison Jr. had been traded from the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals and Houston Texans have been in trade discussions, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, but Arizona is still listening to offers for a first-round draft pick.
That’s my question.
Why the big secret?
After the Cardinals used the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to select a “generational” talent at wide receiver out of Ohio State, Harrison has been wildly underwhelming during his time in Arizona.
In 17 games as a junior, Harrison caught 62 of 116 targets for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. Last season, he caught 41 of 73 targets for 608 yards and appeared in just 12 games. Through four games this year, Harrison shows no signs of a breakthrough, catching just five of 13 targets for 85 yards and one touchdown.
With the lack of production and the Cardinals still spinning their wheels in rebuild mode without a real solution at quarterback, it’s not hard to see why Harrison was traded. The Cardinals are rumored to be ready to turn the page before the NFL Draft.
They signed wide receiver Michael Wilson to a three-year, $75 million deal before the season, which wouldn’t have precluded extending Harrison for a third season, but throwing big money at another young wideout certainly raised some eyebrows.
The thing is, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. Harrison Jr. has already made more money in 13 years in the NFL than his Hall of Famer father did.
So what’s the big secret?
This kid performed wildly poorly considering the expectations. And it wasn’t because his father was a Hall of Fame wide receiver. Harrison Jr. Blinkentoff is a legend at Ohio State, where he is an award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist.
Keeping his next team some kind of secret feels completely wrong. Now he almost knows what’s going on. All reports indicate that the Texans are the frontrunners, while the Cardinals are trying to raise the price in hopes that a better offer will come along.
But isn’t that a bit awkward? Will he miss a week with his new team?
It’s strange that no man engaged in national affairs will come out and say what’s going on with his chest. It’s been no secret that the Cardinals were open to moving him, so now that it’s happening, why is it being treated any differently than any other trade that’s happened before?