On Sunday, the only No. 18 in Arizona was in the stands; receiver Marvin Harrison didn’t play — and presumably wasn’t even in the building — one day after the mysterious half-report emerged from Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport of ESPNFL that Harrison would be traded to a team to be named later.
It’s possible that they both knew the destination and agreed to not report it; as one source explained it to PFT, some of the #insiders (and possibly Schefter and/or Rapoport) knew Harrison had hired agents last month for the first time in his career but kept that news under wraps for as long as possible in order to ensure the effort to get Harrison traded would happen without a widespread sense of a potential Arizona fire sale emerging and, in turn, complicating the Cardinals’ effort to get value for Harrison and Harrison’s effort to get out of Arizona.
Fast forward to one of the most bizarre trade reports in recent years, if not ever, and the question is whether the two teams were still haggling as of Saturday or whether the deal was in place. And whether the door was open for another team (or more) to get involved.
Although the facts are very hard to completely uncover (the simple fact that Cardinals G.M. Monti Ossenfort and Texans G.M. Nick Caserio spent 14 years together, from 2006 through 2019, working for Lord of Secrecy Bill Belichick is the obvious reason for that), it appears that a deal was fully in place before Sunday, and that both teams wanted to delay the announcement until after they played their games on Sunday.
The Texans didn’t fully cooperate in that regard. At the end of his postgame press conference, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans (who was never a member of the Belichick hive) blurted it out after being asked about Harrison multiple times.
The Cardinals game, which kicked off at 4:25 p.m. ET, hadn’t ended. It hadn’t even started.
So why not announce it on Saturday? As best we can tell, the goal was to not create a distraction before Sunday’s game — more for the Texans than for the Cardinals, especially since the word was out that the Cardinals were trading Harrison out of town.
If the deal wasn’t already done, there was no reason for the Cardinals to not wait and see whether another team that had yet to play (up to and including the Monday night game between the Bills and Rams) would develop a sudden need for Harrison due to an injury and make a better offer for the fourth overall pick in the 2026 draft. But the Cardinals didn’t wait until the dust fully settled on Week 5. Which alone points to a conclusion that the deal was done before Sunday.
Then there’s the reality that Harrison must still pass a physical. While that’s usually a technicality, it’s a technicality that kept Maxx Crosby in Las Vegas after the deal was announced that would have sent him to Baltimore. Given that Harrison has been playing this season, there’s no specific reason to think he’ll fail the Texans’ physical. Still, it’s not completely done until the doctor(s) provide the official thumbs up.
As to the haggling, it was apparently done before Sunday’s games even started. But the fact that the information was partially reported served only to create confusion among those who consume the news, leading to the inevitable tinfoil-hat suspicions that someone was trying to make a little money in the prediction markets.
Cardinals Clips
On the same day the Cardinals set the franchise record for consecutive home losses at nine, word has emerged of another lawsuit against the team and owner Michael Bidwill.
Via Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic, former executive assistant Kendra Hogue and former assistant coach Don Shumpert filed a joint lawsuit in Arizona state court on May 26 against the Cardinals, Bidwill and COO Jeremy Walls. The lawsuit includes claims of racial discrimination, retaliation, defamation, and constructive termination.
The defendants removed the case to federal court on June 1. On September 19, federal judge John Hinderaker sent the case to arbitration, with the Commissioner selecting the arbitrator.
And so begins the latest fight over whether the league will be permitted to rely on contracts of adhesion that refer lawsuits against the teams to the secret, rigged, kangaroo court of arbitration. Although the tide has been sharply turning against the league’s efforts to stack the judicial deck in its favor with mandatory arbitration clauses that let the Commissioner control the process, different judges will bring different perspectives to such cases.
Hinderaker, for instance, was appointed to the bench by President Trump during his first term. That wouldn’t have happened if Hinderaker hadn’t been perceived as the kind of judge who will, in cases like this, align with pro-business interests.
Throughout the American legal community, federal judges who are appointed by Republican presidents are regarded as being pro-business, and federal judges who are appointed by Democratic presidents are regarded as having a pro-worker mindset. (Every time I make this observation, multiple non-lawyers bristle. That doesn’t make the assertion inaccurate. I practiced for 18 years; it’s a fundamental truth of civil practice in the United States.)
Arizona falls under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has a history of pro-worker rulings. This gives the plaintiffs in this case a better chance (eventually) at persuading a randomly-assigned three-judge panel to regard the NFL’s arbitration clause in the same way the Second Circuit did in the Brian Flores case.
The Cardinals are also a defendant in the Flores case, due to the firing of coach Steve Wilks after only one season.
The Flores case started the same way as this case is starting, with the federal judge choosing to enforce the NFL’s arbitration clause. More than four years later, most of the claims in the Flores case are on track to be resolved not by the league’s hand-picked arbitrator but in open court.
Word that the Cardinals were planning to trade wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. broke on Saturday morning and word that they had agreed to a deal with the Texans came just as the Cardinals were starting Sunday’s game against the Lions.
That game did not go well for Arizona. The Lions got out to a 31-7 lead on their way to a 45-21 win that led to questions for head coach Matt LaFleur about whether the Harrison situation was a distraction for the team.
LaFleur said he does not believe it was a distraction and that the Harrison situation was “not why we didn’t play well.” LaFleur declined to delve into things like whether Harrison wanted to be moved, how the Cardinals came to the decision to trade him or why Harrison failed to blossom in Arizona after being drafted fourth overall in 2024.
“I’m not gonna totally get into that right now,” LaFleur said, via Theo Mackie of AZCentral.com. “I really like Marvin Harrison. He’s a good person. I wish him well. We did what we thought was in the best interest of the Cardinals. Any guy that does not play to the level I feel like they’re capable of, I’m always gonna put that on me and coaching in general.”
The loss was the Cardinals’ fourth straight since beating the Chargers in Week 1, which tends to support LaFleur’s feeling that the problems plaguing the team go beyond any distractions that Harrison’s situation might have provided over the last couple of days.
The Lions weren’t able to beat the Panthers last weekend, but the club looked like an offensive juggernaut in Sunday’s victory over the Cardinals.
Quarterback Jared Goff threw for 271 yards with three touchdowns while Jahmyr Gibbs had over 200 yards from scrimmage in the victory.
Detroit went three-and-out on its first three possessions. But once the game flipped to the second quarter, the Lions scored on their next seven possessions — six of which were touchdowns.
Though the Cardinals took an early 7-0 lead on their first possession, Detroit scored 31 straight points to take a commanding lead. Gibbs started the onslaught with 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams each had touchdown receptions in the second quarter while Jake Bates had a 46-yard field goal to put Detroit up 24-7 at halftime.
Then in the third quarter, Jameson Williams caught a 39-yard touchdown.
Quarterback Jared Goff took in a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Gibbs put the cherry on top with his 3-yard TD midway through the fourth. That touchdown gave Gibbs the all-time lead in touchdowns for a player under 25, surpassing Hall of Famer — and former Lion — Barry Sanders.
Goff finished 19-of-30 for 271 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Gibbs had 25 carries for 151 yards with two touchdowns, plus five receptions for 56 yards.
It was Detroit’s fourth consecutive game without a turnover. The team has only one on the season.
The Cardinals finished with decent numbers, but many of them were put up after the game was well out of reach. Jacoby Brissett finished 29-of-47 for 292 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked five times.
Jeremiyah Love had just 22 yards on 12 carries.
Earlier, Jahmyr Gibbs tied a longstanding record.
Now he has it all to himself.
With his 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Gibbs has now scored the most touchdowns before the age of 25 in NFL history.
Gibbs now has 58 career touchdowns, surpassing Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, who scored 57 before turning 25.
Gibbs is now poised to blow the record out of the water, as he does not turn 25 until next March.
After a quiet first quarter, the Lions have put it on the Cardinals, scoring on each of their last seven possessions. Six of the scores have been touchdowns, as Detroit leads 45-14 midway through the fourth quarter.
Coach DeMeco Ryans twice declined to answer questions about whether the Texans had completed a trade with the Cardinals for wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. The third time, as he was concluding his postgame news conference, Ryans confirmed the trade.
“You guys wanna know, huh?” Ryans said, smiling. “Yes, we traded for Marvin Harrison. See ya.”
The move reunites Harrison with quarterback C.J. Stroud, who played with the wide receiver at Ohio State. Harrison played sparingly his freshman season with the Buckeyes but had 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022 with Stroud as his quarterback.
“I think he brings a dynamic playmaker, somebody who runs great routes and can catch pretty much any ball,” Stroud said after the Texans’ 26-3 win over the Titans. “I’m super excited to get to work with him. I loved him in college. He’s probably the hardest worker I’ve ever been around in my life, and then there’s who he is off the field. He’s a great dude, a quiet guy, but you definitely feel his presence.
“I’m excited to get him here, get him learning and get him around the other guys. I think it’s perfect for him. Fresh starts are good, so I’m excited to have him with us.”
Harrison, who was inactive for the Cardinals on Sunday with the trade looming, has five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown this season. The 2024 first-round pick has 108 catches for 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career.
The Lions are rolling in the desert.
Quarterback Jared Goff connected with receiver Jameson Williams for a 9-yard touchdown to give Detroit a 31-7 lead.
Williams beat the defense deep and Goff’s pass dropped in the bucket for the scoring strike.
Williams now has two catches for 47 yards on Sunday, both of which resulted in touchdowns. It’s the first time Williams has had a game with multiple receiving TDs.
Goff is 14-of-22 for 188 yards with three TDs so far.
Detroit has now outscored Arizona 31-0 since surrendering a touchdown in the first quarter.
The Cardinals had a shot to get points on their opening drive of the second half. But, Chad Ryland missed a 53-yard field goal wide right to keep Arizona at seven points.
On the injury front, Lions receiver/returner Tom Kennedy (knee) and linebacker Devin White (forearm) have been downgraded to out.
Cardinals safety Wydett Williams has been ruled out with a concussion.
The Lions gave up a touchdown to start the game, but since then it’s been all Detroit in Sunday’s matchup against the Cardinals.
Detroit has a 24-7 lead at halftime.
The Lions started the game with three there-and-outs in the first quarter. But once the game flipped to the second period, it was a totally different story, with the Lions scoring on four consecutive drives. The team’s much-maligned defense also forced five consecutive three-and-outs.
Jahmyr Gibbs got the Lions on the board with a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, which tied him with Barry Sanders for most touchdowns scored by a player under 25. He has 64 yards on 12 carries and 48 yards on four catches.
Quarterback Jared Goff is 11-of-19 for 142 yards with two touchdowns — both of which came on fourth down. Goff connected with a wide-open Sam LaPorta for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter. Then he hit Jameson Williams for an 8-yard score midway through the same period.
Jacoby Brissett started the game well with a 2-yard touchdown to cap a long opening drive. But Arizona’s offense has done next to nothing since, with Brissett finishing the first half 9-of-21 for 89 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Lions linebacker Devin White was carted off early in the second quarter. He was announced as questionable with a forearm injury. Lions returner Tom Kennedy (knee) is also questionable.
The Cardinals will receive the second-half kickoff.
Jahmyr Gibbs has already done a lot of scoring in his career, and now he’s put his name beside one of the all-time greats.
With his 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, Gibbs tied Hall of Famer Barry Sanders for most touchdowns by a player under 25 years old with 57.
Gibbs now has 45 rushing touchdowns and 12 receiving touchdowns in his young career.
But unless something goes terribly awry in 2026, Gibbs is going to run away with that record. The young back doesn’t turn 25 until March 20, 2027.
The Lions lead the Cardinals 14-7 in the second quarter. Quarterback Jared Goff connected with Sam LaPorta for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 to take the lead in the desert.
The Cardinals got a little creative to convert a fourth-and-1 deep in Detroit territory and then put the ball in the box.
Arizona leads 7-0 after a 2-yard touchdown from Jacoby Brissett to Teagan Quitoriano.
On fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 9, the Cardinals ran a “Philly special” play, with Michael Wilson passing it to Brissett for a 7-yard gain, keeping the possession and the chains moving.
On the next play, Brissett found Quitoriano wide open in the end zone for the score.
Quitoriano had not caught a pass — or even received a target — since the 2023 season.
The Cardinals drive lasted 14 plays and went 73 yards, taking 7:54 off the clock.
