A fresh start in London: Marvin Harrison Jr. set for Texans debut vs Jaguars

HOUSTON (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr. will play on Sunday when Houston meets Jacksonville in London, just days after the beleaguered receiver joined the Texans in a trade with Arizona.

Coach DeMeco Ryans was impressed with Harrison’s work in his first practice in Houston on Wednesday after Sunday's trade and said afterward that he’d make his debut against the AFC South-leading Jaguars.

“Marvin did a really good job today of getting acclimated,” Ryans said. “Our coaches have done a great job in the background, were really working with him, getting him caught up to speed on our plays, verbiage, what we’re doing. Got in and made some plays today.”

Ryans said they’ll go through the playbook with Harrison to see what he’s able to pick up on quickly.

“We’ll have set plays and we’ll make sure it’s as easy as possible for him to get lined up so he can play fast,” Ryans said. “Don’t expect him to come out and play all 60 snaps in the game, but we’ll make sure he gets what he needs and make sure he’s confident in what we’re asking him to do.”

Harrison was the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft, but failed to live up to expectations in his time in Arizona. He had 885 yards receiving in 17 games as a rookie and 608 yards receiving in 12 games last season. But he had just five catches for 85 yards in the first four games this season before landing on the inactive list for Sunday’s game as the team looked to trade him.

He was asked where he thinks things went wrong for him with the Cardinals.

“There’s a lot of factors,” he said. “I think any situation you take accountability for yourself. So, I’m going to take accountability for my part and my role that I played in things. But I’m just looking forward to the future at this point.”

The trade reunited him with Ohio State teammate C.J. Stroud, who is off to a great start this season. He ranks fourth in the NFL with 1,402 yards passing and hasn’t thrown an interception this season.

“It’s nice to have my guy back and I’m excited to be rolling with him,” Stroud said.

When Harrison arrived on campus when Stroud was a sophomore he didn’t play much at first, but he was always making plays in practice and impressed the quarterback immediately.

“I’ve knew he was special when he came in,” Stroud said. “He was super ahead of his game, just really mature.”

Harrison is thrilled to have a fresh start and the fact that he gets to do it with Stroud makes it even more special.

“I’ve always watched Texans from afar, obviously watching C.J.,” Harrison said. “So, it’s surreal to play with him now and try to help him the best I can.”

Harrison is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds and is joining an offense featuring receiver Nico Collins, who is 6-4 and 222 pounds. Ryans said was already envisioning the possibilities for the pair when he looked over at them standing together at practice on Wednesday.

“I’m like, man, those are two tough guys to cover,” he said. “You got big, tall receivers … the thing that separates those guys is their catch radius, right? Being tall, long guys, when you put the ball up, they have that ability no matter where it is to kind of outjump a DB.”

Harrison can’t wait to not only play with Collins but soak up as much knowledge as possible from him as he adjusts to his new team.

“I think we can help each other out,” Harrison said. “I want to help him out. I want to learn from him. I think he is one of the best receivers in this league, so my job is to just be a sponge and learn from one of the best.”

Harrison knows there has been a lot of criticism of him this season for a perceived lack of effort before the trade. But he insists he isn’t worried about that and is only focused on being the best he can be for the Texans.

“Everybody has their own opinions and what they’re going to gather from information,” he said. “I know who I am as a player. I know who I am as a person. So however people want to label me or think of me that’s their opinions.”

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