Patriots trading Marcus Cannon to Texans as offseason overhaul continues
Bill Belichick is busy at work, folks.
The New England Patriots have executed another trade — one that was expected, in a sense — with former executive Nick Caserio, who is now the general manager of the Houston Texans.
Nope, Deshaun Watson isn’t involved in this one.
Sorry Pats fans!
Instead, it will be Marcus Cannon heading to Houston after the veteran seemed to be the odd man out along the offensive line following the trade for Trent Brown.
The deal will include multiple pick swaps in the Patriots’ favor and help them clear over $6 million in cap space. More to spend in free agency!
BREAKING: The #Patriots are trading right tackle Marcus Cannon to the #Texans and the clubs are swapping picks in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds, according to a league source. https://t.co/Oq7xnxk4sg
— Jim McBride (@globejimmcbride) March 14, 2021
The Patriots have traded Marcus Cannon to the Houston Texans and the teams will swap picks.
Though Cannon has been a staple on the right side of the Patriots offensive line for quite some time, he’s entering his age-33 season after missing all of 2020 (he opted out due to the global pandemic).
One could suspect the Pats didn’t want to take a risk with him getting back up to speed when they desperately need better protection for Cam Newton and had a young option in Michael Onwenu emerge last year.
As for the Texans, this is a last-ditch effort to try and provide Watson with more protection and an attempt to convince him to stay. Reports have suggested he’s demanded a trade and “has played his last snap” with the team.
Trading RT Marcus Cannon frees up $6,276,250 in cap space for the Patriots after accounting for Top 51 rule. https://t.co/EJ0nxqCo3v
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) March 14, 2021
The Texans are settled with their tackles as Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard are handling the outside, so it’s been speculated Cannon can move to the inside, which he where he played earlier in his career. That’ll really give Houston’s offensive line some help given how the unit was completely torched up the middle in 2020.
Plus, it’s a cost-effective move for the Texans, as Cannon will make a total of $9.4 million over the next two years. In classic Belichick fashion, though, he’ll move up in the later rounds — where he does his best work — to better position the Patriots in the draft. Cannon benefits as well, since he’ll have the opportunity to finish his playing days in his home state of Texas.
Now, we can expect the Patriots OL to look like this:
- LT Isaiah Wynn
- LG Michael Onwenu
- C David Andrews (if re-signed, which would make the most sense)
- RG Shaq Mason
- RT Trent Brown
The offseason tinkering continues for New England and it’s clear Belichick is preparing the team as best he can once free agency begins in a couple of days.
