With just a few days until NFL teams have to cut their active rosters down to 53 players, the Texans are reportedly in talks to part ways with two potential impact players.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Texans pass rusher Shaq Lawson and safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. are "being heavily discussed in league circles as trade candidates."
Lawson, who the Texans traded for Benardrick McKinney to the Miami Dolphins this offseason, has been a disappointment at training camp and in the preseason.
While he was widely considered to be one of the team's better pass rushers entering camp, Lawson is played deep into the Texans' first preseason games, which is uncommon for players projected as locks to make the team.
Meanwhile, Johnson was moved from cornerback to safety last season. Johnson told SportsRadio 610 after last week's win against the Cowboys, in which he returned an interception for a touchdown against Ben DiNucci, that he's grown more comfortable playing safety.
But he's still behind Eric Murray on the Texans' depth chart at the position, and the former second-round pick could yield draft capital to a team starving for it.
The Texans restructured Lawson's contract to lower his cap figure to $3.242 million from $8.5 million for 2021.
The price could still be too steep for Texans general manager to outright cut Lawson from the team.
Johnson, however, has two years remaining on his rookie deal and is relatively inexpensive.
Brandon Scott manages digital content for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott.
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