Marvin Harrison Jr. is ready to go.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters Wednesday that Harrison is in the game plan and will make his debut with Houston on Sunday, days after arriving via trade from the Arizona Cardinals.
He’s not expected to play a full allotment of snaps, but Harrison will be part of Houston's offense for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The game will mark the start of a reunion between Harrison and quarterback C.J. Stroud, who played with each to great success as college teammates at Ohio State. It’s a reunion that comes with high stakes for both.
Harrison and Stroud were elite together at Ohio State
Stroud and Harrison were arguably college football’s most dangerous pass-and-catch tandem during the 2022 season. Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist as he led the Big Ten in passing yards (3,688) and touchdowns (41). Harrison was an All-American as he tallied 1,263 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
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Ohio State advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinal, where it lost a 42-41 thriller to eventual champion Georgia. Stroud thew for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Harrison was on the receiving end of 106 of those yards and two touchdowns.
Their success at Ohio State set them both up for great expectations in the NFL. The Texans made Stroud the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft the following spring. The Cardinals selected Harrison at No. 4 in 2024 as a can’t-miss NFL prototype at wide receiver.
Since joining the NFL, neither player has met those expectations.
High stakes as Stroud hasn’t secured contract extension
Stroud got off to a strong start with one of the best rookie campaigns for a quarterback in NFL history that earned him Rookie of the Year honors after the 2023 season. But it’s been a rocky road since.
Stroud showed significant regression in his second NFL season as his touchdown-to-interception ratio plummeted from 23-to-5 to 20-12. He failed again in 2025 to match his rookie success, and his career reached a nadir in a 28-16 loss to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Stroud threw four interceptions that day in a performance that would have gotten a lot of quarterbacks benched. But how do you bench a young quarterback in a playoff game if you’re the Texans if you view Stroud as your future?
Stroud finished the game. But he did not get an extension to his rookie contract in the offseason in his first season of eligibility to sign one. The message there is clear.
The Texans have seen enough from Stroud to make them wary of investing in him in the long-term. They exercised his fifth-year option, and he’s under team control through 2027. But the Texans need to see more from their fourth-year quarterback to sign him to a nine-figure deal.
Harrison seeking to shed bust label
As for Harrison, the prognosis is worse. Viewed as a lock for All-Pro success coming out of Ohio State, Harrison is instead flirting with a bust label. He was productive with 885 yards and 8 touchdowns as a rookie, but fell short of producing as an immediate difference maker in Arizona’s offense.
In his first season playing primarily with Jacoby Brisset at quarterback, Harrison regressed with 608 yards and 4 touchdowns in his second NFL season. Tight end Trey McBride, instead, developed into the go-to target in Arizona’s offense while Michael Wilson leapt Harrison in the wide receiver pecking order.
Through four games this season, Harrison virtually disappeared from the Arizona offense (5 catches, 85 yards, 1 TD) and the Cardinals gave up on him.
It’s rare for a team that invests in a high first-round pick to bail so quickly, but that’s where the Cardinals landed, 33 games into Harrison’s NFL career. With a second-round pick dangling in return, the Cardinals were happy to make him Houston’s problem.
And that’s how Harrison ended up in Houston playing alongside Stroud for a 1-4 Texans team that’s been one of the most disappointing in the NFL this season. But all hope isn’t lost in Houston.
Will reunion pay off for Stroud, Harrison, Texans?
Stroud can’t be blamed for Houston’s early struggles. He’s playing his best football since his Rookie of the Year campaign and will enter Sunday with a 64.3% completion rate and 280.4 yards per game on 7.6 yards per attempt.
His next interception will be his first of the season. He’s thrown for six touchdowns and run for another. His only turnovers through five games arrived on a pair of fumbles in Week 1 against the Bills.
The plan with the Harrison trade is that his arrival will make him and Stroud better.
With Nico Collins healthy and his favorite college target at his side, Stroud has every opportunity to continue his progression back to Pro Bowl form. With Stroud throwing the ball, Harrison can rekindle the form that made him a can’t-miss prospect at Ohio State.
And with a winnable slate of upcoming games against the Giants, Chargers, Browns and Colts, there’s still time for Houston to turn its season around and contend for the playoffs.
This is the hope, at least, in Houston. For Stroud and Harrison, delivering on that hope is integral to each of their NFL futures.