The Houston Texans continue to be active on the trade market as free agency is set to begin, acquiring veteran offensive tackle Marcus Cannon from the New England Patriots in a deal that involves a swapping of draft picks (per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport). Per Jim McBride of the Boston Globe, New England and Houston are swapping picks in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds as part of the deal.
New England will receive pick No. 109 (fourth round), No. 147 (fifth round), and No. 187 (sixth round) picks while Houston gets Cannon, pick No. 120 (fourth round), No. 158 (fifth round) pick, and No. 194 (sixth round).
The deal is the first between the Patriots and Texans under new Houston general manager Nick Caserio -- the former Director of Pro Personnel in New England for 12 years.
Cannon did not report to New England for a physical and a workout after sitting out the 2020 season due to COVID-19, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. Those moves facilitated the trade to Houston after the veteran offensive tackle spent nine seasons with New England.
Cannon started every game he played for the Patriots since Week 10 of the 2015 season, and was the starting right tackle on two Super Bowl championship teams. He won a third Super Bowl with the Patriots as a backup in Super Bowl XLIX. A Second Team All-Pro selection in 2016, Cannon played 115 games with the Patriots in his nine seasons with the team. The 2011 Ed Block Courage Award winner, Cannon was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma days before the NFL draft -- for which he received treatment and eventually recovered after starting his rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list. A cancer survivor, the uncertainly of COVID-19 played a role regarding Cannon's decision to opt out last year.
The Patriots brought back Trent Brown in a trade last week, as the veteran right tackle reworked his deal. Due to the emergence of Michael Onwenu in his rookie season, Cannon was deemed expendable. Cannon has a cap number of $9,622,918 in 2021 and has two years left on his contract.
Per Over The Cap, the Patriots will save $7,056,250 in cap space with the trade.
