The Houston Texans made a surprising move when they traded wide receiver John Metchie III to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The move was a preemptive one to clear out their receiver room ahead of the roster deadline on August 26 and more moves could be coming to finalize the 53-man roster in the next week.
While the Texans will be looking to get rid of some players, they’ll also be looking to strengthen what they have. One area of concern is the running back position where Joe Mixon is dealing with foot and ankle injury and Houston could look to add depth alongside Nick Chubb, Dameon Pierce and rookie Woody Marks.
With that in mind, the Texans could have another trade target in mind and it can strengthen their backfield before they open the year against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 7.
Sources: The #Commanders have been shopping RB Brian Robinson Jr. to teams around the NFL.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 17, 2025
The former 3rd-round pick out of Alabama is entering the final year of his contract. pic.twitter.com/WKB21BVBZp
Brian Robinson Jr. is Texans Perfect Trade Target Ahead of 2025 Season
According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the Washington Commanders “have been shopping” running back Brian Robinson Jr. Robinson set a career-high with 799 rushing yards and eight touchdowns last season but with Austin Ekeler and preseason standout Jacory Croskey-Merritt on the roster, the Commanders could be looking to unload the Alabama product ahead of the final year of his rookie contract.
Acquiring Robinson might not come at a discount and B/R’s Moe Melton speculated that a deal could look similar to the one that helped the Minnesota Vikings acquire Jordan Mason from the San Francisco 49ers last March. In that deal, the Vikings gave up a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick while swapping Day 3 picks. Minnesota also signed Mason to a two-year, $7 million contract worth up to $12 million after incentives to form a compliment to Aaron Jones.
As a back that’s the same age as Mason, it feels like a reasonable baseline for a deal – especially considering the state of the Texans backfield. Mixon began camp on the non-football injury list but has yet to practice with the season opener roughly three weeks away. Chubb was signed for depth this spring, but it’s unknown how long he will last after being limited to 10 games over the past two seasons. Pierce has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff and Marks is promising but an unknown commodity as a fourth-round pick out of USC.
The likelihood that Robinson will need a contract could complicate the deal for the Texans or any suitor. But with the regular season approaching, a viable insurance plan would be a good idea and Robinson could be worth the price to acquire him.