2024 NFL free agency: Texans hosting CB C.J. Henderson

C.J. Henderson, the former No. 9 pick pick in 2020, could add more depth to the Houston Texans’ secondary.

The Houston Texans need secondary help and will host a former first-round draft pick on Thursday.

Former 2020 No. 9 pick C.J. Henderson will visit the Texans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Henderson spent the past two-and-a-half years with the Carolina Panthers after he was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Henderson, 25, started 17 games over the past two seasons for the Panthers after the Jaguars traded him and a 2022 fifth-rounder for tight end Dan Darnold and a 2022 third-round pick. He started five of 10 games in 2021.

The former Florida cornerback didn’t tally an interception in 2023 but did have two in 2022 and defended six passes. He has just three career interceptions and 16 defended passes in 49 games.

At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Henderson fits the mold of a big-bodied outside cornerback in DeMeco Ryan’s defense. Derek Stingley Jr. is 6-feet and 190 pounds, while free-agent pick-up (and fellow former first-round cornerback) Jeff Okudah is 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds.

It’s unclear if Henderson would be brought in to compete as a possible starter or remain a backup cornerback for the defense. Henderson started seven of eight games to start the 2023 season but never returned to his starting role after missing some games with a concussion.

The Texans need to find a second starting outside cornerback to pair with Stingley. Steven Nelson, Houston’s starter from 2023, remains a free agent. Okudah could be in line to take his place, the Texans could sign another or draft someone in April.

The NFL’s best available free agents as training camps begin

As training camps begin, and the preseason is nearly upon us, here are the best free agent players left in the NFL.

Rookies and veterans are reporting to training camps around the NFL, which means that our long national nightmare of life without professional football is nearly over. Yay, but for a lot of veterans in the league, there’s still an element of waiting by the phone to hear from their agents regarding interests from NFL teams.

Not every veteran — even veterans who are still playing at a high level — have homes when training camps start. A lot of the players listed below will find those homes before preseason games begin in early August, and some will have to wait longer. (Yes, there are veterans who would prefer to eschew training camp entirely, and that has something to do with it).

So, as we head into the pre-preseason, here are the best players who, at this point, are still looking for their new NFL destinations.

Most notable free agent from each NFL team who remains unsigned in 2023

Our NFL Wire editors identified the most notable free agent from each team who remains unsigned.

We’ve reached the dead portion of the 2023 NFL offseason, where teams are wrapping up their offseason programs with mandatory minicamp before breaking for the summer.

As teams ready their training camp rosters, there are still some notable free agents on the open market who could help shore up positions of need. That includes wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, kicker Robbie Gould and (unofficially) running back Dalvin Cook.

Our NFL Wire editors identified the most notable free agent from each NFL team who remains unsigned (at the time of publication) ahead of training camp.

The best NFL free agents remaining, pre-minicamp edition

As workouts and mandatory minicamps get underway in June, here are the best free agents left on the open market.

The end of May presents NFL teams with a brief respite in the action before offseason workouts begin at the start of June, and mandatory minicamps get underway in mid-June. From there, it’s a mad dash to the preseason, and all that comes after.

As teams prepare for minicamps and training camps, they’re also looking at the remaining holes in their rosters that they were unable to fill through the first wave of free agency and the draft. Even as summer comes, there’s still a fairly long list of players available as free agents who can help those teams fill those holes. Surprise releases can add to that talent, as the Arizona Cardinals’ release of receiver DeAndre Hopkins did last week.

The All-22: What DeAndre Hopkins has to offer his next NFL team

So here are the best remaining free agents left on the open market.

How TE Foster Moreau can help the Saints’ offense with his amazing recovery story

Saints TE Foster Moreau’s return to the NFL after his Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis is a great story, but Moreau is also a very good player.

During a routine physical performed performed in March by the New Orleans Saints’ medical team during a free-agent visit, former Las Vegas Raiders tight end Forster Moreau was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s germ-fighting immune system.

Moreau disclosed the diagnosis on his Twitter account.

On Wednesday, Moreau’s story took a wonderful turn.

Moreau will reunite with Derek Carr, his former Raiders quarterback, who signed a four-year, $150 million contract with $100 million guaranteed with New Orleans in early March. Obviously, Darren Waller was Carr’s primary explosive target with the Raiders, but Moreau provided his own specific value, catching 33 passes on 49 targets for 420 yards and two touchdowns in the 2022 season. Through his NFL career, the 2019 fourth-round pick out of LSU has totaled 91 catches on 128 targets for 1,107 yards and 12 touchdowns.

While he’s not in the same downfield threat category as Waller, Moreau became a valuable outlet target for Carr with his ability to get open quickly off the snap, and maximize yards-after-catch opportunities. 241 of his 420 yards last season came after the catch, and that’s what he brings to the Saints.

Moreau also brings contested-catch ability to the table, and there’s perhaps no better example than this 21-yard Week 17 catch against the 409ers. Not nnly did Moreau successfully keep Nick Bosa at bay off the snap, but he then released into his route, and fought off cornerback Deommodor Lenior as Lenoir caught up to him.

Basically, if you want an in-line tight end who can get open, body defenders out of the way, and make some amazing catches at the end, Moreau is a clear asset. The Chargers would be able to tell you all about that.

So, while Moreau’s return to the NFL is absolutely a feel-good story, he also has what it takes to add to the Saints’ passing game, and Derek Carr gets a clutch receiver he trusts.

Which makes it a win-win-win.

4-Down Territory: Best free agents, scheme fits, rising and falling NFL teams

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” the guys discuss the best remaining free agents, ideal late-draft scheme fits, and the teams most and least improved after the draft.

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Kyle Madson of Niners Wire and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire get into a few important items as NFL teams prepare for the first minicamps of the 2023 season.

  1. Now that compensatory picks are out of the picture, NFL teams will start signing the next levels of free agents. Which players are the best left on the boards?
  2. Which third-day draft picks will prove to be the best scheme fits for their new teams?
  3. Which 2022 non-playoff team did the most to get into the tournament in the upcoming season?
  4. Conversely, which team should have done more to match their 2022 postseason successes?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here!

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The best available NFL free agents (post-compensatory pick edition)

Now that the draft is over, and compensatory picks are out of the free agency formula, here are the best free agents left on the open market.

On May 2, a contractual change happened in the NFL that will affect how (and how many) free agents still left on the boards are signed. On that date, free agent signings no longer add to the league’s formula for compensatory picks, meaning that NL teams can sign free agents without future picks going to the NFL teams those players previously played for.

That, along with the incoming minicamps, will have teams looking with a new eye at the league’s remaining free agents with a focus on which ones remaining will best fit their rosters, and best fill the remaining craters in those rosters. At this point in this process, none of these players are necessarily franchise-defining pieces, but you know how it goes. In the NFL, at some point, the bottom third of your roster will be just as important at the top third, and here are the guys who can fill that bottom third quite estimably.

With all that in mind, here are the best remaining free agents in the NFL — at least, for now.

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4-Down Territory: The biggest questions for the 2023 NFL draft

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Kyle Madson and Doug Farrar get into the four most important questions as we near the 2023 NFL draft. 

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Kyle Madson of Niners Wire and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire get into the four most important questions as we near the 2023 NFL draft.

  1. Do the Houston Texans HAVE to take a quarterback with the second overall pick?
  2. Is Texas running back Bijan Robinson worthy of a top-five pick, regardless of positional value?
  3. Beyond Aaron Rodgers, how many current NFL quarterbacks will be taken before (or during) the draft?
  4. Who are our underrated prospects who will make big impacts on their NFL teams, regardless of their Day 2 or Day 3 status?

You can watch this week’s episode of “4-Down Territory” right here:

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Non-negotiable skills for QB, OT, EDGE, CB in the draft

In the debut of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg and Doug discuss the non-negotiables for draft prospects at QB, OT, EDGE, and CB.

In this new show, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar is joined every week by the great Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup. Greg has been with NFL Films since 1979, and he and Steve Sabol invented the concept of putting game tape on television with the Matchup show in 1984, so who better to get intricate with the game than Mr. Cosell himself?

Doug and Greg will be discussing all kinds of football things throughout the year, but as the draft is just around the corner, let’s start with the non-negotiable traits and attributes draft prospects must have at arguably the game’s four most important positions — quarterback, offensive tackle, edge-rusher, and cornerback.

You can catch this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os” right here.

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2023 NFL Draft: Which cornerback should the Lions take with the sixth overall pick?

The Detroit Lions have completely redefined their secondary this year, but they still need a CB1. Which draftable cornerback is the best fit?

The Detroit Lions have done as much as possible to redefine their secondary in the 2023 offseason. This was a necessary construct. Last season, Detroit finished with a 9-8 record, just missing the playoffs right at the end of the regular season, and compiling the franchise’s first winning record since 2017.

The Lions and head coach Dan Campbell did so despite a defense that ranked 28th in Defensive DVOA, and a secondary that allowed opposing offenses to put up some pretty garish numbers. The Lions’ cornerbacks and safeties allowed 171 completions on 295 attempts for 2,657 yards, 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 95.8, which was the fourth-worst in the NFL behind only the Titans, Chiefs, and Panthers. Detroit’s EPA allowed of 28.18 among their secondary was also the NFL’s fourth-worst, behind the Raiders, Bears, and Falcons, and their Positive Play Rate allowed of 47.1% was the NFL’s sixth-worst.

In free agency, general manager Brad Holmes and his staff engineered three team-friendly deals with potential impact players on team-friendly deals.

  • Cornerback Cameron Sutton signed a three-year, $33 million contract with $22.5 million guaranteed;
  • Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley signed a one-year, $6 million deal with $2 million guaranteed; and
  • Safety/slot defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year, $8 million contract.

How the Detroit Lions restored the roar with their new secondary in free agency

Then, the trade of 2020 third-overall pick Jeff Okudah to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2023 fifth-round pick. Okudah had some good moments in his 2022 season to partially offset a career that had been marred too often by injuries and inconsistency, and there are times when a fresh start is the best thing.

How the Falcons can reclaim the NFL career of former Lions top pick Jeff Okudah

Now, the Lions have the sixth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft as part of the Matthew Stafford trade, and it becomes a virtual certainty that they’ll go for a top cornerback with that pick. Sutton and Moseley are both good players, but the Lions are telling you with the Okudah move that there’s still a need for a true franchise player at the position.

Based on what the Lions seem to prefer, and the traits of the top cornerbacks in the upcoming draft, here’s how I’d rank the possibilities.