FOXBOROUGH, Mass. The New England Patriots have agreed to negotiate Marcus Cannon, the longtime right-hander, with the Houston-Texans in a deal that involves an exchange between the mid-to-late-round draft picks, sources told ESPN.
Cannon did not opt for the 2020 season, and sources said a catalyst for the trade was that he did not report to the Patriots for a physical exercise due to a COVID-19 consideration – with the other players of the team that chose it.
The 6-foot-6, 335-pound cannon, a surviving non-Hodgkins lymphoma, is from Texas. He also played Texas Christian at university.
The trade can only be made official at the start of the league year, which starts on Wednesday at 16:00 ET.
Houston currently has two rookies in the attacking suit under contract: left-back Laremy Tunsil and first-round pick Tytus Howard in 2019. If both are on the list before the start of the 2021 season, Howard could move inside again. During his rookie season, Howard tackled left and right before being moved to right barrel.
Cannon has appeared in 115 seasons in the NFL Series for regular season (69 starts) and 19 playoff games (11 starts). He was part of three Super Bowl championship teams in New England that selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft.
The Patriots, who previously agreed to a deal for the offensive attack on Las Vegas Raiders, Trent Brown, will save about $ 6.3 million on the salary cap by trading Cannon.
The deal would be the first exchange between Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his longtime director of staff, Nick Caserio, who is in his first season as Houston general manager.
The Boston Globe first reported the trade.
ESPN’s Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.