By Asif Malik
Marvin Harrison Jr. did not ask his way out of Arizona. That is the word from the man who traded him — Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that Harrison never requested the deal that sent him to the Houston Texans.
Ossenfort admitted the timing of the trade was “weird” and walked through how it went down. The deal came together later on a Friday, and the Cardinals told Harrison first, then informed the team Saturday morning that a trade was pending and Harrison would not play that Sunday.
“It was later on Friday, so that’s why we wanted to make sure to tell Marvin,” Ossenfort said. “Not only for Marvin, but for our team Saturday morning that there was a trade pending and so we were not going to play Marvin in the game on Sunday. We respected that Houston was getting on a plane for a road game and when you trade for a player, you have to make a corresponding transaction. We wanted to respect Houston’s desires moving forward. So that’s why, from our standpoint, we wanted to inform Marv that there was a trade occurring but that’s why the team didn’t come out until after. … So that’s how the timeline went.”
Harrison played 33 games for Arizona, catching 111 passes for 1,612 yards and 13 touchdowns, with his rookie season his most productive.
The general manager’s version sits against a report from ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, who reported Harrison hired agents with the goal of facilitating a trade, uneasy about Arizona’s quarterback situation. Harrison, speaking in Houston, said he was eager to move forward, took accountability for some of what went wrong and declined to elaborate on what he learned in Arizona.
Ossenfort was also asked whether moving a top-five pick while his team got off to a 1-3 start brought any job security concerns. His record as general manager is 17-40.
“My role is always to do what’s best for the team,” Ossenfort said. “It’s always to do what’s best for the team in terms of the information that we have at that specific time. That’s what I’ve always done. That’s what I will always continue to do, what the right move is for the team. It may be different as weeks go by, but at that time, we believed that was the best move for the team. And that’s what we did.”
The Cardinals take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday, with three games left before the trade deadline on Nov. 10.
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© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us
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