The Saints will send a 3rd-round draft pick in 2022, along with a "conditional" 2023 pick to the Texans in the deal for cornerback Bradley Roby, according to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Saints reportedly agreed to the trade with the Texans earlier this week, but will have to face the Green Bay Packers before they get the services of yet another Ohio State defensive back on the roster.
Roby is suspended for the first week of the season, the final game of a suspension levied last year after the Texans' Thanksgiving victory against the Detroit Lions.
Without Roby, the Texans will rely on Vernon Hargreaves III and Terrance Mitchell as their top outside corners, with Desmond King II playing nickel corner.
This week the Saints will likely rely on some combination of recently signed Desmond Trufant, Ken Crawley and rookie Paulson Adebo across from star Marshon Lattimore.
The veteran Crawley had taken first-team reps throughout camp and help up impressively, but he suffered a hamstring injury in the preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and was the only player listed on the opening injury report.
In making the move for Trufant the Saints also cut veteran running back Latavius Murray to clear a roster spot and some cap space. They ended up using that space in the trade for Roby, with a good chunk eaten by Houston. The Texans agreed to convert $7.6 million of Roby's salary into a signing bonus, according to reports, making for just a bit over $1.2 million cap hit for the Saints in 2021.
The money figures likely factored into the level of draft compensation sent the Texans' way in the deal. The Saints had a bit of extra capital to work with in that department, already guaranteed an extra third-round comp pick for next season, and they're likely to get one more additional picks in compensation for free agency departures this season.
