Houston Texans Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Houston is still awaiting a resolution on the Deshaun Watson situation, but that won’t stop them from making changes to their quarterbacks room. The Texans are signing QB Kyle Allen, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (on Twitter).

Allen is inking a one-year, $2.5MM deal, including $2.25MM in guaranteed money.

Allen spent the first two seasons of his career in Carolina, including a 2019 campaign where he went 5-7 as a starter while tossing 17 touchdowns (vs. 16 interceptions). He was traded to Washington prior to the 2020 season, and he ended up appearing in six games (four starts) during his two seasons with the organization. In total, Allen has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 4,318 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions in 21 games (17 starts).

The Texans reportedly aren’t interested in receiving a QB in a Watson trade, and the team is content to move forward with Davis Mills as the starting QB. Allen will join a depth chart that also includes Jeff Driskel.

Latest On Deshaun Watson

March 16th, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons’ meeting with quarterback Deshaun Watson has come to an end, and the team has reportedly submitted a trade offer to the Texans, reports Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com.

While Watson’s previous meetings with the Browns, Saints, and Panthers all took place in Houston, the QB’s meeting with the Falcons was in Atlanta. As Wilson notes, the Falcons were a late addition to the Watson sweepstakes, but there are reasons to be optimistic about their pursuit. Watson grew up in Georgia, and he has a relationship with assistant coach T.J. Yates, who played and coached for the Texans.

While the Falcons’ meeting may have featured a different location, the personnel was generally the same. All four teams had their owners, general managers, and coaches present for their respective meetings, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter).

Watson is finished speaking with potential suitors, but he’s still making a decision on his preferred path. Per Florio (on Twitter), the quarterback is “incredibly torn” about his decision and was impressed by all four presentations. This has made it “very difficult” to choose a destination, and there is no specific timetable for his decision.

The 26-year-old passer choosing Atlanta would mean the end of Matt Ryan‘s 14-year run leading the team. With the Falcons getting into the Watson mix late, they informed Ryan last weekend of their plans at quarterback, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Browns did not brief Baker Mayfield on their Watson intentions.

Texans To Extend S Eric Murray

March 16th, 2022 at 4:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not long after letting Justin Reid defect to the Chiefs, the Texans are retaining one of their own safeties. They reached an extension with Eric Murray, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets.

Previously set to go into a contract year, Murray agreed to a two-year bump worth a maximum of $10MM, Wilson adds (on Twitter). The Texans initially signed Murray in 2020, and he has been a regular starter in Houston.

Formerly a Chiefs draft choice once traded straight up for Emmanuel Ogbah, Murray came to Houston after a year in Cleveland. The 28-year-old defender has started 25 games over the past two seasons. Despite arriving during Bill O’Brien‘s decision-making stint, Murray is in position to keep contributing under Nick Caserio and new HC Lovie Smith.

This marks the second re-up in Houston’s secondary this week; the Texans re-signed Desmond King to keep him off the market. They also added ex-Browns safety M.J. Stewart.

Texans Sign RB Dare Ogunbowale

March 16th, 2022 at 4:39pm CST by Ben Levine

Dare Ogunbowale is off to Houston. The running back is signing with the Texans, reports Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).

The former Jaguars RB got a two-year, $3.3 million from Houston.

Ogunbowale actually got his first NFL gig with the Texans after going undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2017. It took him until 2019 to stick around for an entire NFL season when he got into 16 games for the Buccaneers. He finished that season with 303 yards from scrimmage, which still represents a career high.

The RB joined Jacksonville in 2020, and he saw time in 31 games for the organization over the past two years. He finished his Jaguars career having collected 450 yards from scrimmage and two scores. Ogunbowale also contributed on special teams, collecting 17 tackles during his two years in Jacksonville.

In Houston, he’ll be joining a depth chart that’s currently led by Rex Burkhead. Both David Johnson and Royce Freeman are currently free agents.

Falcons To Meet With Deshaun Watson

March 15th, 2022 at 7:18pm CST by Zachary Links

7:18pm: Watson will meet with the Falcons on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. The 26-year-old quarterback is a Georgia native, heading to Clemson from Gainesville, Ga., and once worked as a Falcons ball boy. Watson and the Browns finished their meeting Tuesday.

We might be moving close to a trade resolution here, though that is obviously only part of this saga. The Texans appear to have approved trade compensation from the Browns, Panthers and Saints, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com tweets. The Watson meetings were contingent upon it. This would point to the Falcons having made a satisfactory offer as well. Watson reached out to the Falcons about a meeting, Russini adds (on Twitter).

10:55am: The Falcons have emerged as a sleeper team to trade for Deshaun Watson, according to league sources who spoke with Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With that, they join the Panthers, Saints, and Browns on the known list of clubs in pursuit of the Texans quarterback.

Watson is set to meet with the Browns today. As of this writing, the Saints and Panthers are the only clubs reported to have made an offer. Still, the Browns have done plenty of research on Watson – both before trading that fateful draft pick to the Texans and after.

Matt Ryan completed 67% of his passes for 3,968 yards and 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. Those numbers are more or less in line with his career averages, though the Falcons are now years removed from their last Super Bowl appearance.

The Falcons could see Watson as the solution, though Ryan just agreed to restructure his contract last week. It’s also possible that the Falcons are simply doing their due diligence and/or looking to raise the asking price for their NFC South rivals. The Panthers and Saints are both keenly interested in the embattled QB — even if the Falcons don’t trade for him, they could help to chip away at their draft capital.

Thanks to Ryan’s restructuring, the Falcons opened up an additional $12MM on their 2022 books. On the heels of that move, they hammered out a brand new $50MM+ extension with veteran lineman Jake Matthews.

Texans Rework OL Laremy Tunsil’s Contract

March 15th, 2022 at 6:05pm CST by Ben Levine

Laremy Tunsil is staying in Houston. The veteran offensive lineman has agreed to a restructured deal with the Texans, reports Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com.

The Texans converted Tunsil‘s base salary into a signing bonus, opening $8.4MM in cap space. The team also reduced the player’s cap number from $26.1MM to $17.7MM. The lineman’s $18.5MM salary for 2023 remains unchanged. Tunsil inked a three-year, $66MM extension with the Texans in 2020.

Tunsil had been mentioned as a trade candidate, and reports confirmed that the two-time Pro Bowler was on the block. That was partly due to Tunsil’s salary, but former first-round pick Tytus Howard showed promise when playing at tackle last season, making the veteran expendable.

Tunsil was traded from the Dolphins to Houston in 2019 for a pair of first-round picks. He earned Pro Bowl nods in each of his first two seasons with the organization, but he missed out in 2021 after he was limited to only five games thanks to a thumb injury.

NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2022 Draft

March 15th, 2022 at 5:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2022 draft. These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2021 offseason.

This year, the NFL awarded 39 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks to franchises who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks.

This year’s formula also includes the changes made last year, when teams began receiving third-round comp picks due to the hiring of minority head coaches and general managers. Seven such picks were awarded this year. The 49ers landed two additional third-rounders this year, obtaining the extra selections for the Jets’ 2021 Robert Saleh hire and the Dolphins hiring Mike McDaniel this year. Miami’s McDaniel hire will give San Francisco another third-rounder in 2023.

The Chiefs obtained a third-rounder for the Bears’ Ryan Poles GM hire, while the Browns landed a third because of the Vikings’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah GM hire. The Ravens collected their second third-round for the Texans’ 2021 David Culley hire; Culley has since been fired. The Saints and Rams obtained one apiece after seeing the Falcons and Lions hire minority execs Terry Fontenot and Brad Holmes as GMs in 2021. New Orleans and Detroit also landed thirds because of players given high-value contacts last year (Trey Hendrickson and Kenny Golladay, respectively).

Here is the full list of 2022 compensatory selections:

By round:

Round 3: Lions (No. 97 overall), Saints (98), Browns (99)*, Ravens (100)*, Saints (101)*, 49ers (102)*, Chiefs (103)*, Rams (104)*, 49ers (105)*

Round 4: Steelers (No. 138), Ravens (139), Packers (140), Ravens (141), Rams (142), Titans (143)

Round 5: Cowboys (No. 176), Lions (177), Cowboys (178), Colts (179)

Round 6: Rams (No. 211), Rams (212), Falcons (213), Chargers (214), Cardinals (215), Colts (216), Lions (217), Rams (218), Titans (219), 49ers (220), 49ers (221)

Round 7: Chargers (No. 254), Chargers (255), Cardinals (256), Cardinals (257), Packers (258), Chiefs (259), Chargers (260), Buccaneers (261), 49ers (262)

By team:

San Francisco 49ers (5)
Los Angeles Rams (5)
Los Angeles Chargers (4)
Arizona Cardinals (3)
Baltimore Ravens (3)
Detroit Lions (3)
Dallas Cowboys (2)
Green Bay Packers (2)
Indianapolis Colts (2)
Kansas City Chiefs (2)
New Orleans Saints (2)
Tennessee Titans (2)
Atlanta Falcons (1)
Cleveland Browns (1)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)

* = special compensatory selection

Texans To Re-Sign DB Desmond King

March 15th, 2022 at 4:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Desmond King is returning to Houston. The defensive back is re-signing with the Texans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).

King will be signing a two-year deal worth $7MM, per Schefter. The deal contains $3.5MM in guaranteed money.

The defensive back spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chargers, including a 2018 campaign where he earned a Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod as a cornerback and returner. However, he found himself in and out of the lineup during the 2019 season, and he was ultimately traded to the Titans midway through the 2020 season.

Tennessee let him walk at the end of the year, and King ultimately landed a one-year deal with Houston. He ended up starting a career-high 12 games for the Texans, compiling 93 tackles, six passes defended, and three interceptions.

Latest On Baker Mayfield’s Future With Browns

March 15th, 2022 at 4:16pm CST by Ben Levine

Deshaun Watson could potentially land in Cleveland, but that doesn’t mean Baker Mayfield would be sent to Houston. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Mayfield isn’t a part of the Browns’ trade offer to the Texans.

The Texans are focused on acquiring picks, including a handful of firsts. The Browns’ offer is presumably based on draft capital, and that’s fine with Mayfield…per Cabot, Houston “likely wouldn’t be his top choice for a landing spot.”

If the Browns do somehow acquire Watson, Mayfield would obviously be sent packing in a separate trade, and Cabot notes that the losers of the Watson sweepstakes could pivot to the former first-overall pick. In this hypothetical, the Panthers and Saints would be among the “losers,” and Cabot also mentions the Colts and Seahawks as potential suitors for Mayfield.

In fact, considering the optics of the Watson pursuit, Mayfield might find himself traded even if Cleveland doesn’t complete a deal with Houston. As Cabot writes, Mayfield “would undoubtedly find it awkward to return to Cleveland in 2022 and start for a team that took the Haslams private jet to Houston on Tuesday afternoon to woo his possible replacement.” Mayfield was also critical of Kevin Stefanski’s playcalling last season, and the QB famously hasn’t inked an extension. Mayfield’s future with the organization always seemed like it was on thin ice, but his exit from Cleveland could come sooner than expected.

There’s always a chance that the Browns don’t land Watson, and the organization and Mayfield kiss and make up. However, as Cabot notes, “the visit with Watson seems like a dealbreaker.”

Houston Texans News & Rumors

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