Johnny Manziel wants to see his former teammate back in Texas.
Manziel tagged the Houston Texans in a social media post about Mike Evans’ reported free agency preferences. The two played together at Texas A&M in 2012 and 2013 before both were first-round draft picks in 2013.
@HoustonTexans 🥶 https://t.co/ohGCrRJnu6
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) March 2, 2024
Evans will hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, after he and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could not come to an agreement on a new contract. He is coming off a season in which he led the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns and finished with his 10th-consecutive 1,000-yard season.
While he could return to Tampa Bay, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported that Evans wants to play for a team that fits a certain criteria:
- A team with “elite” quarterback who isn’t a rookie
- A team that runs an offense that will “showcase him”
- A team that pay him “like a top wide receiver”
- A team that will compete for a Super Bowl
Manziel insinuated that the Texans fit the majority of those asks. Is that true? Well, lets take a look:
- C.J. Stroud isn’t a rookie and some would consider him an elite quarterback.
- Bobby Slowik’s offense doesn’t necessarily need a “showcase” wide receiver with Nico Collins and Tank Dell, but Evans would easily be the No. 1 target on the team should be sign with Houston.
- The Texans have the money to make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league, with an estimated $67 million in salary cap space.
- Houston won the AFC South in 2023 and some predict the Texans can compete with the Kansas City Chiefs in the conference.
Evans also grew up in Galveston, Texas, which is about an hour south of Houston.
None of this means anything, though, unless general manager Nick Caserio is legitimately interested in bringing in and paying for a big-name wide receiver. Evans would certainly fit the bill, but his age – Evans will be 31 by the start of the 2024 season – could either be considered a positive or negative depending on the direction the team wants to go in this season.
The endorsement of a former teammate could go a long way, for Evans’ recruitment, though. Free agency officially begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13, but the “legal tampering” period where agents can talk with teams begins on March 11.
