One year ago, Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens was trying to balance his professional football career and personal life.
While he was in the process of trying to become a part of the Texans’ 53-man roster, his girlfriend (now fianceé) gymnast Simone Biles was 6,682 miles away competing in the Tokyo Olympics.
During her time in Japan, Biles revealed that she was dealing with mental health issues, causing her inability to focus entirely on her performance. The four-time Olympic gold medalist withdrew from team competition to deal with things going on in her personal life.
“It’s a 14-hour time difference. In the mornings here, it would be night there,” said Owens when asked about the communication between himself and Biles when she was in Japan. “I would just kind of catch her before she would go to sleep and just try to give her motivational speeches to kind of keep her head up.”
He was finally able to gain some normalcy once Biles made it back safely to the United States and could attend Texans practice.
Although Owens did not make the 53-man roster in 2021, the Houston Texans waived him and resigned him to the practice squad. Four months later, he was promoted to the active roster and signed to a two-year deal worth $1.75 million.
“It has been a while, probably since college before I have gotten a lot of defensive snaps,” Owens said in Dec. 2021. “This year they have been slowly building me up. I went in for a couple of series one game and I played a big portion of the second half last game. Just building my confidence up slowly.”
“The word persistence probably applies in that situation,” said Texans GM Nick Caserio when describing the road DB Jonathan Owens took to make his first NFL 53-man roster. #WeAreTexans #Sarge @jjowens_3 @Simone_Biles @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/PqFTfwMraM
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) September 1, 2022
Fast forward to 2022, and Owens’s confidence is no longer building; it’s established. The former undrafted player in 2018 made his first active roster and could be named a starter when the Texans open the season against the Indianapolis Colts.
“The word persistence probably applies in that situation,” said Texans general manager Nick Caserio about Owens making the team. “Jonathan is a great kid. He’s got a good attitude. He’s always had athletic traits and attributes. When you look at some of his measurables, they’re as good as any defensive back in the league. I’d say he stayed persistent. Last year when he had the opportunity to play, even though it was a short period of time, he took advantage of his opportunity.”
Owens appeared in seven games in 2021and started two for the Texans at safety, finishing the season with 18 tackles and one interception. His play during organized team activities and training camp was one of the biggest reasons head coach and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith has so much confidence in him heading into the regular season.
“I think it had been five years since I got to play serious defensive time and just being out there and getting comfortable again and slow your mind down and play football free,” Owens said during training camp. “That was my goal and I’m just looking to keep building.”
