3:07pm: The Texans have officially announced the release of Myers, tweets Lindsay Jones of USA Today.
1:30pm: The Texans have informed longtime center Chris Myers that they’ll be releasing him from his contract, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). The latest in a line of long-tenured players to be cut by their respective teams over the last couple weeks, Myers will hit the open market a year early, since his deal had been set to expire after the 2015 season.
Myers, a former sixth-round pick, spent three years with Denver before joining the Texans in 2008. Since then, the 33-year-old has started all 112 games of Houston’s regular season games at center, earning two Pro Bowl berths in 2011 and 2012. Myers’ performance hadn’t slipped too significantly as he neared his mid-30s — Pro Football Focus (subscription required) gave him a positive grade and ranked him 16th out of 41 qualified centers for his performance in 2014. While he had some problems with pass protection, Myers, who played over 1,100 offensive snaps, excelled as a run blocker.
By releasing Myers, the Texans will reduce his cap hit from $8MM to $2MM, and will avoid paying his $6MM base salary for the 2015 season. As a vested veteran, Myers will immediately become a free agent without passing through waivers, once the move becomes official. Although he won’t be the most coveted interior lineman on the open market, he should draw some interest from teams looking to fill a hole at center or perhaps guard.
In his preview of the Texans’ offseason, our Rob DiRe identified Myers as a potential cap casualty, noting that the $6MM saved by cutting him could go a long way toward re-signing other players.