Should the Texans hit reset at safety for second straight offseason?
One of the reasons the Houston Texans have Eric Murray is because they gave up too quickly on Tashaun Gipson, who the club signed in the 2019 offseason.
Murray signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Texans in the 2020 offseason. The former Kansas City Chief and Cleveland Brown safety provided 71 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble through 14 games, all of which he started.
If the Texans were to give up on Murray after a year, much the same way they gave up on Gipson, it would cost $6.5 million in dead money against the salary cap, and a post-June 1 cut doesn’t help either at $5 million in dead money.
One possible free agent who could help Houston’s defensive backfield is Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, according to Pro Football Focus’ Seth Galina.
The Texans would love to have a do-it-all safety to bolster their secondary, and that’s exactly what Simmons is. His versatility is definitely a big part of his game; he can play in the post, or can sit down low and attack in the running game.
Simmons earned a 90.7 PFF grade in 2019, the second-highest mark at the position, and although he fell to a 77.4 grade this past season, that was still good enough for eighth in the league. He’s shown consistency and excellent playmaking ability, which is something the Texans haven’t had in their secondary since Tyrann Mathieu left. Get this man in Houston ASAP.
The Texans are hampered when it comes to salary cap flexibility, and part of it is due to the contract they still owe to Murray, whether he stays on the team or not.
The only possible way to get Simmons and drop Murray at low cost would be a trade after June 1. However, that begs the question of who would be willing to trade for Murray. It would take injury or misfortune for an NFL team to be in a position to trade for Murray.
The safety situation is one area where the Texans will have to live with the decisions of the prior regime.
