7:25pm: Thanks to Adam Schefter of ESPN, we have some details on Houston’s new deal with the Panthers. After performing on a one-year $3.5MM deal with the Ravens last year, Houston will have the opportunity to make double that in 2024.
Schefter reports that the veteran’s new deal is worth up to $7MM and will include a guaranteed amount of $6MM. This represents the largest contract Houston has played under since 2020, when he was making $12MM per year in Indianapolis.
3:48pm: The Panthers have found their long-awaited edge rushing addition. Justin Houston has agreed to a one-year deal with Carolina, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The team has since confirmed the news. 
The Panthers have been on the lookout for a compliment to their starting tandem of Brian Burns and Yetur Gross-Matos and Houston will represent an experienced option in that respect. The latter had spent the previous two seasons with the Ravens, playing on one-year accords both times.
Houston proved to be a highly effective addition for a Baltimore team which has leaned increasingly on young pass-rushers in recent years. The 34-year-old recorded 4.5 sacks in 2021, then upped that total to a team-leading 9.5 last year. The latter figure was produced despite Houston seeing only a 44% snap share, showcasing his continued value as a sack artist.
The Ravens have seen not only Houston, but also fellow veterans Jason Pierre-Paul and Steven Means go unsigned in free agency. Houston expressed a desire to remain in Baltimore on what would have presumably been another short-term deal. A raise from his previous earnings would have been called for, though the team entered today with more than $9MM in cap space, suggesting an agreement could have been worked out. Instead, the former third-rounder will now join a new team for the third time in his career.
Houston earned four straight Pro Bowl invitations and his lone All-Pro nod between 2012 and 2015 during his highly-productive tenure in Kansas City. That stint was followed by two-year runs in Indianapolis and Baltimore, and his performances there should lead to expectations as at least a quality rotational rusher in Carolina. His new team has room for depth contributions on the edge rushing front.
Houston’s sack total from last season would have ranked second on the Panthers, behind only Burns’ 12.5. A change to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is expected to help Gross-Matos take a step forward, and Frankie Luvu has shown an ability to produce both on the inside and outside at the linebacker spot. Despite the incumbents in place, Joe Person of The Athletic wrote earlier today about the high probability of an addition being made (subscription required).
Houston was among the options Person laid out, headlining a group which was thinned recently by the Bears’ deal for Yannick Ngakoue. That accord came in at a higher price ($10.5MM guaranteed) than many anticipated, and it will be interesting to see how Houston made out with this Panthers pact. The latter will look to repeat his success from last year while helping to lead Carolina back to the postseason.
Got it done, JUSTIN Time !!
I now see why the 49ers never signed either of Houston nor Ngakoue. They really needed to add another veteran to their EDGE depth, and both have been proven commodities at the NFL level, but both come with their fair share of flaws as well.
While he performed fairly well last season, Houston still pretty much has one foot out the door towards retirement, and at his age, they couldn’t afford to use up their remaining cap space on such an injury risk. I really thought he’d only get 3mil, maybe 4mil at the most, but it is also possible that the Panthers likely had to overpay to acquire his services.
While Ngakoue has proven himself year after year, it is still very concerning why no one has ever locked him up as a part of their squad. To me, that’s a red flag, but I was still wanting the 49ers to take a gamble on him. That is mainly due to the fact I thought they’d be able to get him for 4-5mil with some incentives, but The Bears basically doubled that, and Ngakoue likely didn’t hesitate to sign that deal.
The 49ers did sign the well traveled Taco Charlton, who carries with him an array of pass rushing moves in his bag of tricks, but one who has been alot less effective than either Houston or Ngakoue. The 49ers just night carry him on their PS along with Spencer Waege if they’re able to sneak him through as well..
They do have Drake Jackson, Clelin Ferrell, and Kerry Hyder along with either Robert Beal or Austin Bryant to pair with Nick Bosa. Although, with Beal being hurt and Bosa holding out of practices until he gets his new deal, it has really made their lack of EDGE depth stand out…
Hopefully, they’re able to get some more depth before the season, because if they suffer an injury to any one of their main four of Bosa, Jackson, Ferrell, or Hyder then their going to likely struggle creating pressure off the EDGE, and Wills and Kocurek will have to get alot more creative.
I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the Niners. They decided to trade Buckner and save some bucks and now they find themselves trolling for pass rushers as bad as Taco.
Ngakoue I think would have been a good fit for San Fran, even with his lack of run defense production. The formidable run defense inside and pressure created opposite of him by Bosa would certainly have given Ngakoue plenty of opportunities to get to the passer, which he has proven effective at. Houston is, as you said, seemingly almost out of the league at this point, despite his measured effectiveness. I use the word “measured” specifically to mean that he needs his snap counts limited at this stage in his career, moreso than Ngakoue, even with the consideration that Ngakoue is not a formidable run stuffer. Houston is purely a rotational player at this point, which is still valuable, as he has demonstrated the continued ability to get to the passer and carries an absolute wealth of experience for a young pass rushing corps.
Charlton really is not anything but a body right now, and I doubt that he ends up as anything but insurance behind more critical players for the 9ers. Signing him shouldn’t preclude San Fran from picking up someone else if they feel the need, because I don’t see them counting on high level production from Charlton at the moment. There are still a few players who could be one or two year Band-Aid starters or heavy dosage rotational players if the Niners decide that they need an addition (such as Clowney). Right now, though, they seem to have that box checked-Ferrell and Hyder are likely to share the most snaps on the edge as it stands now, but Bryant has seen heavy snap shares the past too. The 9ers have a host of tier two type players that could be plugged in opposite of Bosa and offer decent production, though none of them truly stand out at the moment.