The Houston Texans were moderately active during the legal tampering period ahead of the new league year and the official start of free agency in the NFL.
According to Garrett Podell from CBS Sports, the Texans earned a C-plus grade for their acquisitions and moves to retain veterans.
The Texans had to pay an above-market price for a post-knee injury, 30-year-old Robert Woods (two years, $15.3 million), but it was a necessary investment in order to have some receiving options for whoever the team selects at quarterback with the draft’s second overall pick. Quarterback Case Keenum (two years, $6.3 million) is a player who has seen it all in the NFL from leading a team to an NFC title game and subsequently signing a sizable free agent deal to floating around as a backup like he has the last few years. That’s a nice value for a veteran mentor for the incoming future of the franchise.
The same can be said for the Texans’ signing of former San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward to a two-year, $13 million deal, according to NFL Network. That’s an affordable, and important pickup for first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans, the former 49ers defensive coordinator. A veteran like Ward can be an extra coach on the field for a young Texans defense, helping accelerate the transition to Ryans’ scheme. With extra draft capital over the next few years, thanks to the [2022 offseason trade with Cleveland Browns], this could be a team on the rise in a couple years.
No doubt the Texans’ moves indicate a coordination between rookie coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio.
“Communication has been awesome working with Nick,” Ryans said at the NFL combine on March 1. “We see the game the same way, which is great. We see the game the same way and see players the same. It will be really nice to continue to work with him.”
