Marvin Harrison Jr. will suit up and is expected to play for the Houston Texans in Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, one week after he was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for a 2027 second-round pick.
A fading weapon in Arizona, Harrison only had five catches for 85 yards through four games and drew harsh criticisms surrounding his regression as a former first-year selection out of Ohio State. Texans quarterback and former Buckeyes teammate C.J. Stroud defended Harrison, saying his internal perspective is all that matters as he battles detractors.
"I don't think anybody ever is a finished product. You're always learning ways to get better," Stroud said. You're always learning ways to get better at what you're already good at. I think there are two different types of perspectives you can look from. You can look from the world's perspective of who people think you are or yourself.
"I think that's where I've learned that it doesn't really matter what people say. They can't really stop or start what you have going on. Then you have your perspective of who you think you are, who you believe you can be. I think that's more important. For Marvin, he knows that. He's a heck of a player."
Over 16 starts as a rookie, Harrison recorded 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns before his production dwindled during his second campaign, part of that due to a concussion suffered last season.
"I don't agree with some of the things that are being said about him," Stroud said. "At the end of the day, that's what people who are on the outside are saying. I'm a firm believer of really focus on what you can control and then whatever other people say or have their opinions, kudos to them.
"They have platforms and things that they can say on, but that doesn't really affect you unless you make it. I think he'll be fine. I try to just be [a resource] to him if I need to. He's a confident dude. He'll be fine."
The deal had been in the works for weeks behind the scenes, according to Texans general manager Nick Caserio, who said this week it was Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort's call to wait until the conclusion of last week's games to reveal Harrison's destination.
"The deal was basically done Friday night, we kind of had an agreement in place. I gave him my word, he gave me his word, that's how you do business," Caserio said during an interview on 95.7 The Fan, "That's how he and I do business, but he wanted to handle it a certain way as it pertains to the communication and some of the other things, so we certainly didn't have a problem with that at all."
