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The year 2020 could very well be Gareon Conley's last season with the Houston Texans.
After acquiring the young cornerback in a trade with the Oakland Raiders in October, the Texans have opted not to exercise Conley's fifth-year option, making him an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.
A former first-round pick out of Ohio State, Conley played eight games for Houston last season, making six starts and recording 27 tackles and 11 passes defended.
According to Fox 26's Mark Berman, the Texans like what Conley brings to the team. However, by not exercising his fifth-year option, the team avoids a $2.7 million salary cap hit in 2021.
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Although Houston traded the third-round pick they got in the Jadeveon Clowney trade to acquire Conley from Oakland, the 24-year old will have to beat out a Houston secondary with a lot of young talent.
Bradley Roby, Vernon Hargreaves, Lonnie Johnson, Phillip Gaines, Cornell Armstrong, Keion Cross and 2020 fourth-round pick John Reid make up a particularly crowded cornerback group in Houston.
However, although they have a crowded group of cornerbacks, the Texans struggled to defend the pass in 2019 — which is one of the main reasons they traded for Gareon Conley in the first place.
In 2019, the Texans ranked 29th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, 27th in passing touchdowns allowed and 17th in interceptions. Still, Houston ended the regular season with a 10-6 record before being eliminated by the eventual-champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-51 in the AFC Divisional Round.
