The tenders that the Texans placed on certain players last night aren't expected to hold if the players have already reached an experience level where they would've been free agents under the old collective bargaining agreement. Things can change, of course, but one of the players that would be free in this case is third wideout and erstwhile Twitter poet Jacoby Jones.
Jones was a focal point of criticism last year after he dropped a lot of passes. He has all the physical talent to be an elite receiver, but when it comes to simple things like catching the ball and running routes crisply, his play suffers. Furthermore, asking him to be a receiver and a return man last season rendered him pretty ineffective as a returner. Was he held back at all by the Texans game plan? Probably. Rick Dennison and Gary Kubiak weren't running much deep play-action once they realized they'd rather control the ball and keep their abysmal defense off the field, and the whole purpose of having a receiver like Jones out there is to send him to catch those deep balls. You're just wasting his talents, otherwise.
He did turn it around a bit towards the end of the year, particularly in the Baltimore game and the last two games of the season where he took over in the starting lineup for an injured Andre Johnson.
↵While the Texans are by no means locked in to Jones now, it's clear that they want him to return due to the second-round tender they slapped on him. David Anderson is a credible third receiver when he's not hurt, but the depth behind him is pretty weak. Dorin Dickerson is still learning to be a wide receiver. I understand that the Texans may not have a choice with regards to Jones this year, due to the possible lack of free agency, but my question is pretty simple: do you want to see Jacoby Jones in a Texans uniform next season?
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