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Through his first nine seasons in the league with the Houston Texans, linebacker Brian Cushing has been a key part of the defense.
It appears that Cushing' tenure in Houston has come to a close as he told John McClain of The Houston Chronicle that the team is planning on releasing him at some point over the next couple of weeks.
“Outside linebacker Brian Cushing has been told by the Texans he will be released sometime before the new league year begins March 14.”
The 31-year-old has had quite a productive career with the Texans currently being the all-time leader with 665 total tackles along with notching 14.5 sacks, nine forced fumbles, and eight interceptions. His departure will clear up $7.64 million in the salary cap space for the Texans pushing them to just over $64 million.
Cushing is coming off the least productive seasons of his career posting just 16 total tackles in five games played. This came largely due to the fact that he had been suspended for 10 games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. It had marked the second time in his career that he had been docked for that with the first coming in the 2010 campaign where he received a four-game ban.
Although Cushing has been one of the team's most productive defensive players, he has dealt with his fair share of injuries. He had suffered season-ending knee injuries in 2012 and 2013 but only was forced to sit out five games over the next three years. He has earned a Pro Bowl selections, two Second-Team All-Pro nods, and the 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
The decision to part ways with Cushing should open the door to the team making a serious push to ink an extension with Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who is set to enter the final year of his rookie deal in the 2018 season.
