The Houston Texans made a trade
The Houston Texans are trying to get a little better in the trenches next season as they traded for a veteran guard Tuesday. The team wants to build a new culture under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans. The team will have a better identity for the 2023 season with a new player.
According to Tom Pelissero with the NFL Network, the Buccaneers are trading offensive guard Shaq Mason to the Texans.
The #Bucs are trading veteran guard Shaq Mason to the #Texans, per source. pic.twitter.com/yTuKnw1Xgs
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 14, 2023
The New England Patriots drafted Mason in 2015. He stayed in New England through the 2021 season and won two Super Bowls as a member of the Patriots—Mason with the Buccaneer for the 2022 campaign.
Mason is precisely the type of player the Texans will need this offseason. The Texans stand to draft the second overall pick in April’s draft. They will likely take a quarterback. Mason’s skills should allow the rookie quarterback time in the pocket and progress early in his career.
Mason was worth a fifth-round pick in 2022
Mason was traded for the fifth-round pick in 2022, when the Patriots traded him to the Buccaneers, per The Athletic:
“The Buccaneers and the Patriots have agreed to a trade that will send guard Shaq Mason to Tampa Bay, a source confirmed to The Athletic. New England will receive a fifth-round pick as compensation.
Mason has spent his entire seven-season career with New England and won two Super Bowls with the franchise. He’s already familiar with his new quarterback as he blocked for Buccaneers star Tom Brady in five of those seasons when Brady was with the Patriots.”
According to Albert Breer with NBC Sports, the Houston Texans will receive Mason and a seventh-round pick in 2023. The Buccaneer will get a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Final terms of the Houston/Tampa trade …
• Texans get: G Shaq Mason, 2023 seventh-round pick.
• Buccaneers get: 2023 sixth-round pick.
Mason is in the final year of his deal; due a $7.5 million base, plus $1 million in per-game roster bonuses. Good news for a young QB.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 14, 2023
The Buccaneers likely made the trade for cap space reasons. After Tom Brady retired this offseason, the team has been shedding players to get under the salary cap limit. According to Over The Cap, the Buccaneers are over $1 million in the red for the cap space.
