Time for the Houston Texans to trade Whitney Mercilus

The Houston Texans are now at the point where they should trade Whitney Mercilus.

Since 2012, Whitney Mercilus has been a mainstay of the Houston Texans defense. In his seven years with the Texans, he has amassed 43 sacks, 274 tackles and has forced nine fumbles. However, at 29 years old, and with a new contract looming, is now the time to trade the defensive playmaker?

Historically speaking, once an NFL pro hits the age of 30 it marks the “back nine” of their football career. Of course, there are outliers to this rule, looking no further than to Texans 35-year-old cornerback Johnathan Joesph who is entering his 14th season in the NFL. The post 30 rule isn’t the end all be all for NFL players, but it’s definitely a good place marker.

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There are two major arguments for trading Mercilus, and they both stem from strictly a business and logistical standpoint. Houston has a plethora of pass-rushing talent currently on the roster, and a signing Mercilus to a new contract seems unlikely.

Between J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, a point can be argued that Houston posses two of the marquee defenders in the NFL, though Clowney is in contract talks with the franchise as we speak. Houston’s depth at edge rusher could also make Mercilus expendable with young defenders such as D.J. Reader, Brennan Scarlett and Carlos Watkins on the roster.

Out of those last three listed, only Scarlett truly plays the SAM linebacker position, but it’s the overall pass rushing depth that may prove valuable in trading Mercilus away. With the recent absence of Clowney at the team’s OTAs in June, Scarlett was elevated to the starting team to take the place of the absent edge defender.

That move showed that Houston’s coaching staff has confidence in Scarlett, because he previously replaced Mercilus on the field when he went down with a season-ending injury in the 2017 season. That season he collected 29 tackles and two sacks.

Watt, the former two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, seems to have returned to former glory. Multiple injuries sidelined the defender in the 2016 and ’17 seasons, but he stormed back on the field in 2018 and played at a high level. Watt — who is under contract with Houston through the 2021 season — posted near career numbers with 16.0 sacks, 61 tackles and forced seven fumbles last season.

The biggest question mark for the Texans on this list is Clowney. Houston used the franchise tag on the defender this offseason after they failed to secure a new contract with him. Just a few days ago, on July 15, the deadline to negotiate a new contract had passed.

Houston will have to wait until next offseason to negotiate a new contract. If a new contact is not hammered out by the start of next year’s free agency period, Clowney will be an unrestricted free agent and will be free to sign with whatever team he so chooses.

Since the passing of the July 15 deadline, reports have begun to emerge that Clowney will not report to the team facility until the end of training camp or just before the start of the season. This scenario throws an interesting wrench into any potential trade talks that Houston may pursue.

As previously mentioned, Scarlett took Clowney’s reps at OTAs, so if Mercilus was to be traded, Scarlett would be presumed to be the starter at the SAM linebacker position. However, if Clowney was to not to report to camp or the team at all, Scarlett would most likely slide down to start in place of Clowney. This is highly unlikely, as Clowney has given no hint that he intends to sit out this season.

With Mercilus’ contract set to expire at the end of this season, Houston may want to get something out of the defender before losing him. At his age, Mercilus could still be a potential trade target for multiple teams who are hungry for pass rushers such as the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.

Only one of these teams, Green Bay had a defender total double-digit stats last season, that being  Kyler Fackrell. The Packers have struggled to get pressure in the past, but Detriot and New York are more likely destinations.

Detroit is the most likely suitor from a salary cap standpoint. With just under $23 million in cap space, the Lions could take on Mercilus’ $7.3 million contract and have the funds next year to give him another.

The Lions took Austin Bryant in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft in an attempt to help patch this need. Mercilus is still an intriguing option for them, and Houston may want to listen if the phone rings. That being said, a trade is highly unlikely. A more realistic spot could come from the “Big Apple.”

If the Lions are the team that could afford Mercilus, then New York is the team that needs him. The Giants leading edge rusher was outside linebacker Olivier Vernon. Vernon has since moved on to Cleveland, leaving a massive hole in both the linebacker corp and edge rushing department.

Mercilus would provide enough versatility that could prove valuable to a thin Giants defense. Since Mercilus is a staple of the Houston defense, losing him would be a tough site to see, but the odds point to him not being back after this season anyway, so it is smart for the Texans to get something for him via trade.

With Clowney going into a contract dispute that could prove to be massive, and Deshaun Watson’s first mega-deal being only two-to-three years away, the Texans will need to prepare to cut corners somewhere. Unfortunately for Mercilus, he may be a casualty of those two massive deals on the horizon.