After being held hostage for what felt like months, the Houston Texans front office finally landed their veteran cornerback. While Nnamdi Asomugha hemmed and hawed over offers from the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and Texans, more people began to focus on Johnathan Joseph. News broke at around 7:10 pm Houston time that the Texans had agreed to a five-year deal with the widely regarded second best cornerback on the market.
It's not Asomugha, but Rick Smith and company showed they could negotiate with multiple cornerbacks and nab a star target as opposed to putting all their eggs in one basket and risk coming away with nothing. While financial numbers are unknown, the deal will likely come in at around $9-$11 million per season in my guess (judging off Nnamdi numbers).
In Joseph, the Texans will get their veteran stabilizer in the secondary. Joseph will man the top of the depth chart while mentoring young Kareem Jackson, Brandon Harris, and the other cornerbacks. To me it seems like the smart choice because Joseph is who I compared Jackson to post NFL Draft. They both have a similar size and mindset except that Joseph's already taken his lumps and had very good years in Cincinnati.
There will be more analysis about what Joseph does for Houston and Wade Phillips' defense, but, for right now, Houston fans are rejoicing at a big free agent signing and turning their eyes to picking up a starting safety. Visit Battle Red Blog for all your happy Texans reactions and stay tuned to both sites as we continue to monitor free agency.
EDIT at 8:08 pm: Per the Houston Chronicle's John McClain, the five-year deal is worth $48.75 million with $23.5 million guaranteed and a $12 million signing bonus. Do the rough math and it fits into what I thought. In my eyes, the Texans did not overpay.
Filed under: