When the Arizona Cardinals had to release safety Tyrann Mathieu because he refused to take a pay cut, the Houston Texans seized the opportunity and signed him to a one-year, $7 million contract.
Mathieu has proven the doubters wrong before and he's slated to do it yet again, says his longtime teammate and close friend in Cardinals star cornerback Patrick Peterson.
A teammate of Mathieu's in Arizona for five seasons and a fellow LSU alumnus, Peterson spoke out about his former teammate to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.
“I know he's going to make the best of this opportunity,” Peterson said of Mathieu. “I tell him all the time, I love to see him with his back against the wall because he always finds a way to prevail and he's going to have a big year.”
Mathieu, who Peterson views as a brother to him, said it was very difficult to see the Cardinals have to part ways with the safety this offseason.
“It was very hard,” Peterson said. “Obviously, seeing the rumors and the speculation that it was a possibility that he was going to leave, I was just trying my best to try to sweep it under the rug. And I'm quite sure he was trying to do the same thing. So, it's very tough, very tough to see a brother leave and go to a different team.”
A Pro Bowl selection in 2015 and one of the NFL's most versatile players, Mathieu had 307 tackles, 41 pass deflections, and 11 interceptions in 66 games with the Cardinals over five seasons.
If Mathieu has another Pro Bowl caliber season in 2018 for the Texans, it's safe to say that Houston struck gold with signing him.
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