LA Rams trade wide receiver Ben Skowronek to Houston Texans

After considering a release on Thursday, the L.A. Rams managed to find a trading partner for wide receiver Ben Skowronek. The former seventh-round draft pick is headed to the Houston Texans where he’ll catch passes from second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud.

The Rams and Texans are swapping their 6th and 7th-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft as part of the trade. Skowronek has spent the first three years in Los Angeles after the Rams drafted him with the 249th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He played the start of his collegiate career for Northwestern before transferring to Notre Dame for the 2020 season.

Skowronek won a Super Bowl ring in his first NFL season as the Rams took down the Cincinnati Bengals to win the big game for the first time since 1999. Through his first three seasons, the former Fighting Irish standout has 58 catches for 575 yards and one receiving touchdown. He also scored a rushing touchdown, which was his first in the league, during the 2022 season. In postseason runs, he’s added another three catches for 17 yards.

Skowronek was playing for the Rams on a four-year deal for $3.56 million. The Houston Texans will now take over the remainder of his deal for 2024 before deciding whether or not to let him become a free agent in 2025.

He joins the Texans wide receiver room with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Robert Woods, John Metchie, and Noah Brown. Tank Dell, a third-round draft pick by the Texans last year, is currently recovering after suffering a gunshot wound from an incident in Florida last week. The team acquired Diggs and Brown in the offseason.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year began at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially ran out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams had a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams could enter into a legal negotiation with players who will become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marked the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marked the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offer sheets hit. Following the restricted free agent deadline followed the 2024 NFL Draft, which ran from April 25-27.