Although their playoff opener is not going too well thus far, the Texans entered Saturday with clear offseason goals. They want both Jadeveon Clowney and Tyrann Mathieu to be part of their 2019 team.
While re-signing both long-term may be difficult, that is the path Houston wants to take, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). Both defenders are set for free agency come March.
Talk of a Clowney extension cooled off considerably in 2018, when the standout defender was battling another knee injury. But he has played well this season, making his third straight Pro Bowl. The Texans want to, at the very least, keep Clowney around for 2019 via the franchise tag. Rapoport calls that move a “very viable option.” This has been rumored for a bit now, even though it is not the Texans’ preferred option.
This would force the Texans to re-sign Mathieu long-term, if they want to keep him around. That’s a scenario the former All-Pro safety is interested in unfolding. With the safety market taking odd turns this year, Mathieu had to settle for a one-year commitment. It’s likely he will be able to do better in 2019.
Earl Thomas, Landon Collins, Lamarcus Joyner, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix may hit the market, or at least a few members of this group. That would make for another interesting offseason involving safeties. As for Clowney, his asking price surely spiked when the deals for Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack were finalized.
Houston is projected to possess $72MM-plus in cap space, which is in the top 10. The Texans already extended Benardrick McKinney and will have Deshaun Watson becoming extension-eligible after this season. And after J.J. Watt reclaimed his place on the All-Pro first team, the Texans will probably have to carve out room for another major extension for the three-time defensive player of the year.
They should resign Mathieu and let Clowney wall. Use the money saved on not signing clowney and bring in two offensive lineman.
How does one “wall”?
I think it should b the other way around. U sign the pass rusher and u let the vet safety try to find a better deal and if he does cool. They got Reid in the third round last year and he was pretty good. Bates from Cincy was a second rounder. Flowers in Seattle was a 6th. Name a rookie pass rusher who’s performing at the level as the rookie DBs.
They need to take all the money they’re gonna give those two, take it over to Irsay’s suite, and offer it up to call off this ass whooping.
They need to make revamping the offensive line a priority, and they surely need to evaluate talent better there. The Colts nearly ruined Luck’s career with a crappy OL but saw the rewards this season. Texans going down the same path with Watson. LT, LG, RT are completely substandard and C and RG are maybe average.
Spending money on a safety should take a back seat. Reed and Hal are returning. The big need in the secondary is CB, particularly some guys who can actually run. They need at least 2. If Kareem or Mathieu want to take a team friendly deal then ok, otherwise let them test the market. Clowney should be franchised if a deal can’t be worked out, possibly traded if there’s a great deal offered. Hopefully they can work that out quickly though and keep him in the fold, then concentrate on OL and CB.