Head coach DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans are currently in the process of capitalizing off of last year's successful run in what is now a highly important offseason for the future direction of the franchise. The Texans have been (relatively) quiet thus far in the NFL's free agency period leading up to the upcoming NFL Draft next month, but on Thursday, Ryans got a huge addition for his upstart defensive backfield.
The Texans are signing free agent cornerback CJ Henderson, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
The 25-year-old Henderson was drafted by the Panthers with the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who then traded him north to the Carolina Panthers a year and some change later after a relatively disappointing opening stint to his NFL career that culminated with a season-ending injury in November of his rookie season.
Henderson, a Miami native, played his college football for the Florida Gators, where he experienced great success in his three years with the program before being drafted to the big leagues. Now he'll attempt to resurrect his career in Houston on a one-year deal that has a maximum value of $3.25 million, per Charean Williams of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk.
The Texans are looking to capitalize on their surprising success
As previously, mentioned, DeMeco Ryans and the Texans, who were also led by rookie quarterback sensation CJ Stroud, went farther than anyone could have reasonably expected heading into the season. The Texans were a bit shaky to start the year, but eventually played their way into the NFL postseason, where they bulldozed the Cleveland Browns in round one in front of their home fans before finally bowing out to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
One area of weakness that was at times exposed in the loss to the Ravens (as well as earlier on in the Cleveland game despite the win) was the Texans' backfield, which was relatively malleable for opposing receivers. Earlier this offseason, the Texans made a stride to help address that problem with the signing of cornerback Jeff Okudah, who previously played for the Atlanta Falcons.
Now, with the signing of CJ Henderson, it seems that the Texans are planning on bringing out a revamped defensive backfield for the 2023 season. One person who may be viewed as the “odd man out” in this scenario is Texans cornerback Steven Nelson, who is currently a free agent and might not be viewed as a key priority for Houston to retain anymore following this latest addition.
In any case, the Texans' defense will go a long way in deciding whether or not the team can capitalize off of their surprise success in 2023. Ryans is surely well aware that Houston will no longer be able to “sneak up” on unassuming opposing squads this year after putting the world on notice in this most recent campaign.
The NFL Draft is set to get underway in about a month.
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