The Houston Texans have had a busy couple of weeks fortifying their roster via several signings in free agency, re-signings of their own players before they reached free agency, and a couple of shrewd trades. They’ve put themselves in a great spot to display flexibility and creativity in the upcoming NFL Draft.
In between now and then, though, there are still some areas they shouldn’t be afraid to address, and we are at the stage of free agency where those areas can be addressed with (a) highly experienced (read: OLDER) players, who (b) might work for them on a value (read: CHEAP) contract.
On top of that, some of the names still on the free agent market have some Houston Texan in their NFL blood. In other words, we might be able to secure some inexpensive labor and have a reunion at the same time! With that in mind, here are five names I want to float to the reading audience, along with the likely appetite the Texans might have for a reunion with each of them:
D.J. READER, DT, Detroit Lions
Reader is definitely on the short list of “ones that got away” in free agency over the last several years, when Bill O’Brien let him walk, while giving awful contracts to numerous other players. Reader has gone on to have nice runs with the Bengals and, of late, the Lions. He played all 17 games last season, and was second among Lion interior lineman with 20 QB pressures. The Texans still have holes on the defensive interior, and bring in back Reader on the right deal would be a nice “circle of life” moment.
RASUL DOUGLAS, CB, Miami Dolphins
Most Texan fans probably don’t realize that Douglas, who’s carved out a nice career for himself as a late bloomer, ever even wore a Texans uniform, but he was signed in late August of 2021, and was a camp body int he David Culley season. Again, I get it, if you don’t remember, because we are all trying to forget that season. Douglas has started several games for the Packers, Bills, and Dolphins the last three seasons. The Texans need veteran depth behind Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter at corner. Douglas might have other ideas, perhaps wanting to continue as a starter.
BRANDIN COOKS, WR, Buffalo Bills
STEFON DIGGS, WR, New England Patriots
Right now, the Texans wide receiver room is basically Nico Collins, the three young guys from Iowa State (Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson), and whatever Tank Dell is, at this point. I don’t think the Texans should be drafting a receiver in April, but adding a veteran makes sense. However, these are both complicated. Cooks left the building with a sour taste, demanding a trade in 2022 after signing a big extension less than a year prior. Meanwhile, Diggs’ one season here went fine but behind the scenes, he’s dealing with legal trouble right now, and might be somewhat toxic.
JADEVEON CLOWNEY, DE, Dallas Cowboys
Clowney is another one that Bill O’Brien saw fit to part ways with, back in 2019, when he traded him to the Seahawks for a third round pick. The former number one overall pick in 2014, Clowney has carved out a nice niche as sort of a free agency mercenary, signing one-year deals in different stops for over a decade now. Last season, it was in Dallas, where Clowney was a bright spot on an otherwise awful defense. I’m not sure that Clowney fits the culture profile that DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio look for, but it would be a whole lot of fun to have him back on, wait for it, a ONE YEAR DEAL!
Related