TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals are finalizing a deal to trade wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Saturday.
The Cardinals informed Harrison that he will be inactive for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions as the trade is completed, sources said.
One team that has had talks with Arizona is Houston, which has been, and is thought to be, squarely in the mix for Harrison, sources told Schefter and Rapoport. If Harrison is traded to the Texans, he would be reunited with his college quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Indianapolis Colts are not involved in talks for Harrison, a source told ESPN's Stephen Holder. The Cardinals were asking for a second-round choice and more, according to a source, for the son of Marvin Harrison Sr., the Hall of Famer who owns multiple Indianapolis receiving records.
Marvin Harrison Jr. has been the center of trade speculation for weeks as he got off to a slower-than-expected start to the season. He had just one catch in the first two games, fueling chatter that his time in Arizona could be coming to an end this season, short of his rookie contract ending.
Harrison has five catches on 12 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown through four games this season as the fifth-most-targeted player on the Cardinals offense. Tight end Trey McBride, wide receivers Michael Wilson and Kendrick Bourne, and running back Jeremiyah Love all have more targets than Harrison, who was tied with the sixth-most receptions.
Harrison's only touchdown of the season came in Sunday's 36-24 loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. After the touchdown, while sitting on the turf, Harrison raised his right index finger to the mouth area of his face mask to indicate a "shush" motion. Asked Thursday about what message he wanted to get across with the celebration, Harrison said: "No message."
He said this week that he hasn't paid attention to the trade speculation. But on Sept. 23, Harrison hired Todd France and Tory Dandy as his agents, according to the NFLPA online database. Harrison did not have an agent prior to then.
The No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft, Harrison had 1,578 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches in 33 games with the Cardinals. He hasn't reached 1,000 yards in a season and dealt with foot injuries and appendicitis last season that led to him playing in just 12 games in which he caught 41 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns.
As a rookie, Harrison had 885 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 62 catches.
After Sunday's loss, coach Mike LaFleur said he still has faith in Harrison.
"Yeah, my confidence is high in Marv," LaFleur said.
Entering the weekend, Arizona told teams that it was looking for first-round value for Harrison, yet other teams have viewed him as worthy of some form of second-day pick compensation, sources said.
Sources said Harrison hired France and Dandy to try to navigate a potential trade, and the interest has been significant over the past few weeks.
France and Dandy have engineered high-powered trades before, with France working behind the scenes on the Brian Burns trade to the Giants, while Dandy was integral in the A.J. Brown trade to the New England Patriots. The hope had been to work on a trade quietly,
Harrison is due $4 million this year and $5.62 million next year. He also has a fifth-year option decision coming up this offseason. His $22.5 million signing bonus was already paid by the Cardinals.
Some of the urgency for a trade can be explained in that acquiring teams want to have him for as many games as possible, not only to play him but also to get information for the looming fifth-year option decision.
With the NFL's trade deadline under a month away, the league has seen three trades in the past two weeks: the Minnesota Vikings sent quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers sent cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles sent center Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens.
