Houston Texans are adding depth to their secondary, which has been plagued by injuries in recent weeks. On Monday, Texans acquired cornerback Gareon Conley from Oakland Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick in 2020.
Conley, who was a first-round pick in 2017, played six games in 2019, recording 23 tackles, two passes defended, and one interception. Despite his upside, he was deemed expendable by Oakland, who opted to give a chance to some of their younger CBs, including rookies Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson.
Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden confirmed the trade at a media conference on Monday.
“It was a tough decision, obviously. We certainly wish Gareon the best.” – Gruden told the reporters.
With Gareon Conley, Houston Texans are hoping that they will gain some consistency out of their secondary. Texans lost starter Johnathan Joseph to an injury on Sunday, although he is expected to make a quick return, while second starter Bradley Roby is dealing with a hamstring injury and won’t return for two more weeks. Roby’s replacement Phillip Gaines also went down on Sunday, hurting his ankle and will probably land on the injured reserve list.
By trading for Conley, Texans continued the trend of swapping draft picks for players that could help them right away. The team previously traded two first-round picks and a second-round pick to Miami Dolphins in exchange for tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills.
