The Houston Texans suddenly need a lot of help in the secondary. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, though, it's unlikely to come in the form of arguably the top available safety left on the market.
The Texans, despite losing cornerback Kareem Jackson and safety Tyrann Mathieu to competing teams in free agency on Monday, are reportedly “out” on veteran safety Earl Thomas.
The news was relayed on Twitter by NFL Network's James Palmer.
on @nflnetwork just now @MikeGarafolo said he believes the Texans are out on Earl Thomas. They were out bid by the Chiefs on Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson is heading to Denver. Their secondary lost the two players led their defense in snaps.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) March 12, 2019
Jackson, a starter for Houston since his rookie season in 2010, agreed to sign a three-year $33 million deal with the Denver Broncos on Monday. Subsequently explaining that the Texans never even engaged in contract negotiations with him this offseason, Jackson said he felt “disrespected.”
Mathieu, meanwhile, leaves the team after just a single season in Houston, but is arguably a bigger loss for the team's defense. He reached a three-year, $42 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.
Thomas, 29, is reportedly seeking a contract that will pay him a salary commensurate with those of Mathieu and Landon Collins, who agreed on a record six-year, $84 million contract with the New York Giants on Monday. Reports indicated that Houston hoped to retain Mathieu, but lost a bidding war to the Chiefs.
The nine-year veteran possesses aging and injury concerns his star peers don't, though, including a broken leg in Week 4 of 2018 that cost him the remainder of the regular season.
Thomas had previously held out of training camp in hopes of getting a long-term contract from the Seattle Seahawks, leaving the field on a cart while making a profane hand gesture to the sidelines.