"Follower of Jesus Christ" for those that don't have the twitter. You'll have the "What do you have against Jesus" Coy crowd It's not about religion it's who the F' wakes up and wants to build a team that way. Private colleges and HS are a different thing. We talkin' bout a professional team, allegedly
[The Athletic] Texans free agency big board: Andy Dalton, Justin Coleman and other potential targets With or without Deshaun Watson, when the NFL’s legal tampering period begins Monday to kick off free agency, the Texans won’t be big spenders. After going 4-12 with the league’s most expensive roster, the Texans will look to save cash and cap space in 2021 while entering a rebuild. As of this writing, the team possesses just less than $17 million in cap space. New GM Nick Caserio has already addressed some needs with relatively cheap one-year deals, signing running back Mark Ingram and linebacker Christian Kirksey, who were cap casualties of other teams. He also traded inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney for edge rusher Shaq Lawson and acquired offensive tackle Marcus Cannon for a swap of fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round picks. Expect Caserio to target more low- to middle-tier free agents, including some who were cut by other teams and, like others the team recently has acquired, don’t count toward the compensatory pick formula. Below you’ll find players at positions of need who fit this profile, with the ages at Week 1 in parentheses. This big board will be updated as free agency unfolds. Quarterback Andy Dalton (33): There are younger options with arguably higher upside, such as Mitchell Trubisky and Jacoby Brissett, but consider the optics: Those guys are either high-end backups for contending teams, or they’re below-average starters for teams in desperate need of a QB. So long as the Texans say Deshaun Watson is their quarterback and they aren’t trading him, Houston doesn’t fit into either one of those categories. It does, however, need a backup QB, as A.J. McCarron is hitting free agency. The team can sell Dalton as a McCarron replacement, and should the Texans ultimately trade Watson before drafting a QB, Dalton can be a mentor to the rookie. Tyrod Taylor (32): Similar rationale to the one for Dalton. Taylor can serve as a short-term starter before handing off the job to a rookie, just as he did for the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the Browns’ Baker Mayfield at his last two stops. Ryan Fitzpatrick (38): Fitzpatrick, who was with the Texans in 2014, most recently played for the Dolphins. He appeared in nine games while splitting snaps with rookie Tua Tagovailoa. Fitzpatrick is inconsistent, but he averaged 7.8 yards per attempt last season, which ranked eighth among QBs who attempted at least 200 passes. Others to watch: Brian Hoyer (35), Robert Griffin III (31), McCarron (30) Wide receiver Will Fuller (27): The Texans’ most high-profile free agent has one of the least predictable markets because of his injury history and the depressed cap. Signing a one-year deal with hopes of staying healthy in 2021 might be Fuller’s best move. Josh Reynolds (26): At 6-foot-3, Reynolds has size the Texans’ receiving corps lacks. He caught 52 passes for 618 yards in a career year last season, but he was inefficient, ranking 51st among 55 qualifying receivers in yards per route run. Still, Reynolds never has missed a game and is young. John Ross (25): He’s the sort of low-risk, high-upside player the Texans should gamble on in the early stages of a rebuild. Ross went ninth overall in the 2017 draft, but he shouldn’t command a huge market after playing just 86 snaps this past season. In four years with the Bengals, Ross has played in just 27 games and caught 51 passes for 733 yards. Rashard Higgins (26): The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen considers Higgins one of the best values in this year’s free-agent class. In five seasons with the Browns, Higgins never has eclipsed the 600-yard mark, but he became one of Mayfield’s favorite targets after Odell Beckham went down this past season. finishing 2020 with a career-best average of 2.2 yards per route run. Among 87 receivers who saw at least 50 targets, that ranked 19th. John Brown (31): He became a cap casualty for the Bills thanks in part to the arrival of Stefon Diggs, but in 2019, Brown caught 72 passes for 1,060 yards in his first season with Buffalo. Others to watch: Breshad Perriman (27), Damiere Byrd (28) Offensive line OT Roderick Johnson (25): The Texans’ swing tackle for the past two seasons is one of the youngest linemen to hit the market. Following the acquisition of Cannon, who counts for about $7 million against the cap, it is less likely Johnson returns to Houston. Cannon either is a relatively expensive swing tackle himself or the starting right tackle. The latter scenario would push 2019 first-round pick Tytus Howard to guard, where he played briefly as a rookie, though Howard still could play tackle in a pinch. Houston has 2020 fourth-round pick Charlie Heck at tackle, too. OG Trai Turner (28): The Chargers cut Turner a year after trading for him, freeing them of his $11.5 million 2021 cap hit. In his lone season in Los Angeles, Turner played in a career-low nine games and underwhelmed when healthy. But he’s a five-time Pro Bowler who is still on the right side of 30. OG Lane Taylor (31): He’s been with the Packers for the past eight seasons and was a starter from 2016-18, overlapping those three seasons with new Texans offensive line coach James Campen. Taylor has played in just three games during the past two years because of injuries, so he could be available for a cheap, one-year deal. Others to watch: OG Forrest Lamp (27), OC/G Ethan Pocic (26) Defensive line DL Deatrich Wise (27): A Patriots fourth-round pick in 2017, Wise recorded 56 QB hits in his first four pro seasons while never playing more than 56 percent of New England’s defensive snaps in a year. DL Adam Butler (27): Another former Patriot. Butler recorded 15 sacks on 22 QB hits in four seasons as a rotational defensive lineman in New England. He’s never played more than 47 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. DT Sheldon Rankins (27): The No. 12 overall pick in 2016 was solid but unspectacular in five seasons with the Saints. He played 40 percent of defensive snaps last season and recorded nine QB hits and 1.5 sacks. He produced pressure on 8.9 percent of opportunities, according to TruMedia and Pro Football Focus. That would’ve ranked second among Texans defensive linemen, behind only Charles Omenihu. DT Quinton Jefferson (28): In his final two seasons with Seattle, Jefferson totaled 25 QB hits. He then underwhelmed in the first year of a two-year, $13.8 million deal with the Bills. After becoming a cap casualty, he could settle for an inexpensive, one-year deal. Others to watch: DL Roy Robertson-Harris (28), DT Davon Godchaux (26) Edge Kyle Van Noy (29): Once a productive pass rusher for New England, Van Noy signed a four-year, $51 million contract with the Dolphins last year but was recently released, joining Lawson as a defensive player Miami made a significant investment in only to give up on a year later. Could they reunite in Houston? He had six sacks and 10 QB hits in 14 games in 2020. Dawuane Smoot (26): While playing a career-high 59 percent of defensive snaps last season, Smoot recorded 17 QB hits. He’s totaled 11.5 sacks over the past two years and still is young. Tyus Bowser (26): Among the 10 members of the Ravens’ defensive front who played at least 300 defensive snaps, Bowser ranked third in pressure rate (13.5 percent), ahead of high-profile free agent Yannick Ngakoue. Bowser’s pressure rate would’ve led the Texans. Others to watch: Jordan Jenkins (27), Samson Ebukam (26), Kamalei Correa (27), Tanoh Kpassagon (27), Kyler Fackrell (29)
Linebacker Tyrell Adams (29): His breakout year came late, as he filled in for McKinney in 12 starts last season and finished with 125 tackles. Chances of Adams staying in Houston look slimmer following Kirksey’s signing, especially if Adams’ play in 2020 has generated interest in him as a starter from other teams. Jarrad Davis (26): A first-round pick in 2017, Davis played just 29 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps. But in his first two NFL seasons, he totaled 196 tackles, 14 TFLs, 14 QB hits and eight sacks. At the right price, he’s a young player with upside worth a Texans’ gamble. With Kirksey and Zach Cunningham in place, though, the Texans might not offer Davis much more than another rotational role. Others to watch: B.J. Goodson (28), Elandon Roberts (27) Cornerback Justin Coleman (28): Quarterbacks had a rating of 135.8 when throwing at Coleman, a slot corner who got only halfway through a four-year, $36 million contract with the Lions before Detroit released him. Coleman still is on the right side of 30, though, with a history of strong play in his past. And Caserio has familiarity with him: Coleman spent his first two NFL seasons with the Patriots before New England traded him for a seventh-round pick. Malcolm Butler (31): Another cap casualty, Butler’s best days likely are behind him, but the former Patriot and Titan could bring a veteran presence and Super Bowl pedigree to an overhauled position group. Terrance Mitchell (29): A full-time starter for the first time in his career last season, Mitchell proved to be a good tackler and recorded 13 pass breakups, tied for ninth among corners. He’d be a good fit for defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s zone-heavy scheme. Others to watch: Quinton Dunbar (29), Desmond King (26) Safety Jalen Mills (27): He started 15 games at safety for the Eagles last season after spending the previous four seasons as a corner. His entire tenure in Philadelphia overlapped with new Texans cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso. Kenny Vaccarro (30): Cut by the Titans, Vaccarro is an established starter coming off the worst season of his career. He failed to pick off a pass or force a fumble in 13 games. He could settle for a one-year deal in hopes of earning more money after a bounce-back year. Xavier Woods (26): Given his age and experience (48 starts in four seasons with the Cowboys), Woods might be out of the Texans’ price range. But he worked with new Texans safeties coach Greg Jackson while Jackson held the same role in Dallas. Others to watch: Ricardo Allen (29), Duron Harmon (30)
Caserios been adding a bunch of players coming off a down year. I know FAs will (and should) be leery of the state of this franchise, but with all the holes on the roster, Houston is a decent spot for a bench guy to break out, or an aging vet to show theres gas in the tank. Low expectations, with a lot of opportunity to play.
