HOUSTON — The Houston Texans continued a busy day of trades by addressing a glaring need to upgrade their offensive line, acquiring left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins in a deal that also netted them receiver Kenny Stills, a source familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced.
Miami will receive two first-round picks, another in the second round, and will also get offensive tackle Julien Davenport and cornerback Johnson Bademosi. The Texans will get a fourth-round pick.
That trade comes after Houston agreed to a deal to ship Pro Bowl defensive end/linebacker Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle.
Tunsil improves a line that allowed Deshaun Watson to be sacked an NFL-leading 62 times last season. Tunsil, the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft, started 44 games for the Dolphins.
Stills joins a solid receiving group led by DeAndre Hopkins. He had 37 receptions for 553 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Earlier in the day, the Texans agreed to trade Clowney to Seattle for a 2020 third-round pick and linebacker/defensive ends Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin.
Clowney held out from training camp, unhappy about Houston using the franchise tag on him, and there was no progress toward a long-term contract. The Seahawks will have Clowney for one season at a cost of about $16 million.
Clowney, 26, was the No. 1 overall pick in 2014 and is a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He had nine sacks in 15 games last year.
CHIEFS: Wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas was suspended for the season opener for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
The Chiefs also traded backup running back Carlos Hyde to the Houston Texans for Martinas Rankin, who is expected to provide depth along the offensive line, and sent defensive back Mark Fields to Minnesota for a seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft.
BILLS: Veteran running back LeSean McCoy was a surprise cut as Buffalo established its 53-player roster.
General Manager Brandon Beane cited the emergence of rookie Devin Singletary and McCoy having to play a diminished role as key factors in the team’s decision to cut McCoy.
McCoy, an 11th-year player, ranks 25th on the NFL’s career list and fourth among active players with 10,606 yards rushing. He is coming off his least productive season, however, and proved to be the odd man out after Buffalo restocked the position this offseason.
Aside from selecting Singletary in the third round, Buffalo signed 36-year-old Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon. McCoy was initially considered safe after Beane twice said he was still considered the starter.
What changed was Singletary’s accelerated development and showing he could play a dual role as runner and receiver during training camp and the preseason.
Singletary finished with 42 yards rushing on 12 carries and added six catches for 46 yards.
“Devin’s an unproven player in a regular season game, but we felt he had done enough and answered enough questions for us to make this decision happen,” Beane said of the 5-foot-7, 200-pound player out of Florida Atlantic. “We felt he’s ready to roll in some form or fashion for our team.”
49ERS: Running back Jerick McKinnon was placed on injured reserve and will miss a second straight season after having complications in his recovery from a knee injury.
McKinnon was one of the team’s major acquisitions in free agency in 2018, signing a four-year, $30 million contract, but he has yet to play a game for San Francisco.
BENGALS: Cincinnati decided to keep injured receiver A.J. Green on the active roster to open the season, hoping he can return from ankle surgery in less than eight weeks.
Green hurt his left ankle during the first training camp practice and had surgery, the second consecutive season he’s been slowed by a significant injury. If the Bengals had placed him on injured reserve, Green would have been forced to miss the first eight weeks of the season.
FALCONS: Atlanta is bringing back 44-year-old kicker Matt Bryant after failing to find his successor during preseason.
EAGLES: Philadelphia waived its two top rushers from last season and a starting offensive lineman on its Super Bowl championship team.
Running backs Josh Adams and Wendell Smallwood were let go, along with offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
