How 4 NFL teams changed their future before the 2019 season
The Texans have gone all-in for the 2019 season while the Dolphins are clearly in for the long haul.
The weekend before the 2019 NFL regular season kicked off was chaotic. There were two big-name players moved, a notable contract extension, and one team went all-in on a young quarterback.
The trades involving Laremy Tunsil and Jadeveon Clowney gave us a deeper look into the mind of two front offices — and how they plan to attack the immediate futures of their clubs and beyond. Four teams in particular changed their trajectory in just a few days.
Here are the short- and long-term outlooks of those four teams that made major moves in the final weekend before the new season begins.
Houston Texans
Texans send to Seahawks: DL Jadeveon Clowney
Texans receive from Seahawks: 2020 third-round pick, LB Jacob Martin, LB Barkevious Mingo
Texans send to Dolphins: 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick, 2021 second-round pick, OT Julie’n Davenport, CB Jonathan Bademosi
Texans receive from Dolphins: OT Laremy Tunsil, WR Kenny Stills, 2020 fourth-round pick, 2021 sixth-round pick
Texans send to Patriots: 2020 sixth-round pick
Texans receive from Patriots: CB Keion Crossen
Texans send to Chiefs: G Martinas Rankin
Texans receive from Chiefs: RB Carlos Hyde
Houston was the busiest team over the weekend thanks to four trades.
The first trade they made was sending Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2020 third-round pick and linebackers Jacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo. The compensation for Clowney is subpar for a three-time Pro Bowler, but that was the Texans’ own fault. They didn’t get a deal done with him by the July 15 franchise tag deadline and Clowney never signed the tender, meaning that he was ineligible to sign with any team until the end of the season.
Seattle capitalized on the Texans’ mismanagement and stole one of the top defensive ends in the league for pennies on the dollar.
The trade for Laremy Tunsil was a bit of a head-scratcher in terms of what Houston gave up, but it should work out well in the very immediate future. Tunsil is a young offensive tackle who has the room to grow into a perennial Pro Bowl talent, and the Texans finally got Deshaun Watson the protection that he needs on his blindside — which they had to do after he got sacked 62 times last year.
But forking over all that draft capital to the Dolphins is going to hurt Houston down the line. It’ll now be more difficult to add premium talent to the roster without those picks in 2020 and 2021.
At the very least, the Texans do appear to have the pieces for a lethal offense this season. Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, Kenny Stills, Will Fuller, and Duke Johnson should be able to light up opposing defenses — if Watson can stay upright. He should have a better chance at that with Tunsil protecting him than Matt Kalil.
In more minor moves, Houston traded a 2020 sixth-round pick to the Patriots for cornerback Keion Crossen and received Carlos Hyde from the Chiefs in a player swap. Hyde isn’t expected to be a big contributor at this point in his career, but the Texans needed running back depth after losing Lamar Miller to a torn ACL.
Short-term outlook: They have a young, star quarterback on an offense loaded with skill talent and a franchise left tackle. Even with losing Clowney, they have the top end talent in J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and Justin Reid to stay firm on that side of the ball. The division is theirs for the taking again, especially with the recent retirement of Andrew Luck.
Long-term outlook: Watson, Hopkins, and Tunsil are a great trio to build around, but they’ll have to creative with their team-building in the coming years due to a lack of draft picks.
Miami Dolphins
Dolphins send to Texans: OT Laremy Tunsil, WR Kenny Stills, 2020 fourth-round pick, 2021 sixth-round pick
Dolphins receive from Texans: 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick, 2021 second-round pick, OT Julie’n Davenport, CB Jonathan Bademosi
Even if they won’t say it, the Miami Dolphins clearly aren’t focused on this season.
They weakened an offensive line that was already bad by trading their franchise left tackle to the Texans, but it was the right move for a team that’s buckled in for a long rebuild. Two first-round picks and a second-round pick is just too much value to ignore for almost any player — they received more in terms of draft picks than the Raiders did for Khalil Mack around this time last year.
It should also be noted that no matter what you think of Tunsil’s ability, his impact would be diminished in Miami this year, considering the other four linemen in the starting lineup. One good player and four bad players on an offensive line is still a poor unit.
The Dolphins now have four first-round picks and three second-round picks to reload their roster over the next two drafts. Oh yeah, they’re also projected to have $131 million in cap space in 2020, according to Spotrac.
Losing Tunsil and Stills leaves this offense without much hope for the 2019 season. Newly acquired Julie’n Davenport will be expected to compete for the starting left tackle position while return specialist Jakeem Grant and undrafted rookie Preston Williams will battle for the wide receiver reps vacated by Stills.
It’s not a great situation for them to evaluate second-year quarterback Josh Rosen, but that doesn’t matter too much right now with Ryan Fitzpatrick entrenched as the starting quarterback.
Miami is headed toward a multi-year overhaul. Now we just have to see how that unfolds over the next two years — and how the Dolphins put together a strong supporting cast for their eventual franchise quarterback.
Short-term outlook: Radioactive waste.
Long-term outlook: They’ll have the cap space and draft picks for a turnaround in the next couple years. The next step is to figure out who their franchise quarterback will be.
Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks send to Texans: DL Jadeveon Clowney
Seahawks receive from Texans: 2020 third-round pick, LB Jacob Martin, LB Barkevious Mingo
Houston’s fumbling of the Jadeveon Clowney situation made Seattle a big winner right before the start of the season. The Seahawks added one of the top defensive linemen in the league for a third-round pick and two role players.
They’re going to need the help up front with defensive tackle Jarran Reed facing a six-game suspension and first-round pick L.J. Collier recovering from a high ankle sprain. Once both of those players join Clowney on the defensive line, Seattle will have the firepower it needs to help mask a young secondary that’s still trying to find consistency in the post-Legion of Boom era.
The risk in trading for Clowney is that that he’s just a one-year rental because of his franchise tag. However, the Seahawks are only on the hook for $8.9 million of his $15.9 million contract. Giving up a third-round pick and two reserve linemen for a dynamic playmaker is worth the gamble even if he walks in free agency. For what it’s worth, the Seahawks promised Clowney they would not tag him after the season.
To make things sweeter for the Seahawks, they’ll have the cap space to extend Clowney after the season, if he’s interested. Even with Russell Wilson locked up, Seattle is projected to have $83 million in cap space next year, according to Spotrac. That’ll be more than enough to give Clowney his extension and sign Reed to a long-term deal.
Short-term outlook: Pretty, pretty good. They got the pass rush help they needed to help out a young secondary.
Long-term outlook: Even better than their short-term outlook. They have their franchise quarterback locked up, the cap space to extend Clowney, and an extra second-round pick from Kansas City due to the Frank Clark trade.
Indianapolis Colts
Colts extend: QB Jacoby Brissett
Colts sign: QB Brian Hoyer
The Colts were dealt a crappy hand when Andrew Luck retired, but they seem to be comfortable with a couple quarterback options heading into the future.
Indianapolis reached a two-year extension with backup-turned-starter Jacoby Brissett worth about $15 million per year, making him the 19th-highest-paid quarterback in the league. The Colts also signed Brian Hoyer to a three-year, $12 million deal to solidify their quarterback depth chart for the coming season. Hoyer is quarterback with a lot of experience who can start in a pinch if need be — Tom Brady said Hoyer was a valuable piece to the Patriots’ operation even as a backup.
While Brissett and Hoyer aren’t as good as Luck, they should bring competent quarterback play while the Colts try to figure out their long-term option at the position. Even if Brissett flames out, his contract isn’t hefty enough to stop the Colts from selecting a quarterback in either the 2020 or 2021 NFL Draft. That likely won’t be a top pick, though, since general manager Chris Ballard has done a fantastic job of building up their roster to a place where they can still compete without Luck.
Indianapolis is projected to lead the league in cap space next season with a whopping $141 million. Losing a superstar, franchise quarterback definitely stings, but the Colts are still set up for a bright future.
Short-term outlook: Even with Brissett, this team can win the AFC South with a combination of coaching, skill talent, and offensive line play.
Long-term outlook: The Colts can still find their franchise quarterback if Brissett doesn’t work out as the starter.