Tag: AFC South

Texans HC DeMeco Ryans named to Senior Bowl 2024 Hall of Fame class

DeMeco Ryans will forever represent the Houston Texans and Alabama Crimson Tide as a member of the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame.

DeMeco Ryans is going to the Hall of Fame.

The one in Mobile, Alabama, and not Canton, Ohio, just to clarify.

The second-year Houston Texans coach and former Pro Bowl linebacker was named to the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame. Ryans, a former standout for the University of Alabama, became a sensation down at Ladd-Peebles Stadium during the 2006 Senior Bowl.

“Being from Alabama, it was a huge honor to get the invite and participate in the 2006 Senior Bowl,” Ryans said in a statement. “I’m thankful to have played my last collegiate game in front of my home state fans. This game provided me a pivotal opportunity as a draft prospect to prove myself against the best competition in college football. Now as a coach, I continue to follow the game closely to evaluate the top talent in the draft each year. Now, as a coach, I continue to follow the game closely to evaluate the top talent in the draft each year. This game helped me as a player many years ago, and it is still assisting players in reaching their dream of playing in the NFL.”

Ryans was one of five inductees for the Class of 2024, joining Marty Lyons (1979), Carson Palmer (2003), Eric Weddle (2007) and Roddy White (2005).

A second-round pick for the Texans in 2006, Ryans would go on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year under first-year coach Gary Kubiak. A year later, he’d earn first-team All-Pro honors and his first Pro Bowl nomination.

Ryans spent six seasons in Houston before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. He retired in 2015 and almost immediately caught the coaching bug, joining the 49ers’ staff in 2017.

Hired by the McNairs last offseason, Ryans was the architect for the team’s turnaround after a woeful three seasons. Houston was on its fourth coach in four years after Bill O’Brien, David Culley and Lovie Smith combined for 11 wins in three years.

Headlined by Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud, the Texans coasted to a 10-7 regular-season record and their first division title in four years. Ryans, who finished second in AP Coach of the Year voting, became the seventh coach since 2019 to improve by at least six wins since the previous year.

Houston also secured its first playoff win since 2019 with a victory over the Browns in the wild-card round.

Ryans and the Texans will look to build off their dominant first season in 2024 and should be considered an AFC favorite. Entering next week’s draft, the Texans have the seventh-best odds to win this year’s Super Bowl, according to BetMGM.

Texans DE Danielle Hunter took less money to play in Houston, per report

The Houston Texans landed edge rusher Danielle Hunter despite a more lucrative offer from an AFC South rival.

Maybe edge rusher Danielle Hunter took a hometown discount after all.

The Indianapolis Colts offered Hunter more money to play for a different AFC South team, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder before the veteran ultimately decided to take a two-year, $48 million deal with the Houston Texans.

Hunter is a Houston native who played high school in nearby Katy, Texas. He noted in his introductory press conference how his proximity to the Texans growing up played a role in shaping his NFL career. He idolized former No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams and later attended the Texans’ 2023 playoff game against the Cleveland Browns.

So while the Colts may have had a more lucrative offer on the table, Hunter appeared more excited to play in Houston with DeMeco Ryans as his head coach than play for a different AFC South team.

There has been talk all offseason that the Texans have become a destination for free agents. But this news is the first concrete example of that being true.

Hunter should form an explosive defensive line with NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson in 2024 and give Ryans some firepower to defend the AFC South title. He’ll also get to return home for the first time since being drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2015.

Ex-Titans edge rusher Trevis Gipson signs with Jaguars

Former Titans edge rusher Trevis Gipson has signed with the Jaguars.

Another one of the Tennessee Titans’ free agents has signed with a division rival.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on Monday that they have signed edge rusher Trevis Gipson, who spent the 2023 campaign with the Titans. The contract details have yet to be revealed.

Gipson is the third Titans free agent to sign with a division rival, along with defensive end Denico Autry and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, both of whom landed with the Houston Texans.

The 26-year-old played sparingly last season, seeing just 76 defensive snaps over eight contests. His lack of playing time was one of the more puzzling things to take place last season.

I had Gipson on the radar as someone the Titans could bring back, especially after Autry, who worked at both defensive end and outside linebacker during his time in Tennessee, left for the Texans.

The Titans have yet to address either position in free agency, leaving the team very weak at defensive line, and dangerously thin at outside linebacker.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Texans expected to sign ex-Titans LB Azeez Al-Shaair

The Texans are reportedly expected to sign former Titans LB Azeez Al-Shaair.

The Tennessee Titans are losing yet another key piece to their 2023 defense to a division rival, as linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is expected to sign with the Houston Texans.

The news comes from Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the deal is for three years and $34 million, which works out to an annual average $11.3 million.

Al-Shaair’s deal with the Titans in 2023 was less than half that at $5 million. I expected the 26-year-old to get more money in free agency, but not quite that much.

Al-Shaair joins fellow former Titan and defensive lineman Denico Autry, who is also expected to sign with the Texans. The veteran linebacker also reunites with his former defensive coordinator from his days with the San Francisco 49ers, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans.

The Titans already had one starting linebacker to replace in Jack Gibbens, but now they’re tasked with filling a pair of voids at the position. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they’ll now face both Autry and Al-Shaair twice in 2024.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Jeffery Simmons shocked Titans ‘let’ Denico Autry go to Texans

Jeffery Simmons was shocked that the Titans “let” Denico Autry go to the Texans.

Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons is now the Will Smith meme from “The Fresh Prince” in which he’s standing around in an empty room with nobody there.

Big Jeff is set to lose his best line mate from the past three years, as Denico Autry is expected to sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the Houston Texans, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The deal is for more annually than the 21.5 million Autry got from the Titans over his three-year deal in 2021, a contract that was the definition of a pure steal for Tennessee.

However, after 28.5 sacks over the past three campaigns, that’s still a good deal for such a productive pass-rusher.

With Big Jeff now the only Week 1 starter on the defensive line set to return in 2024, he was none too thrilled that not only did the Titans not bring Autry back, he’s going to a division rival.

Can’t say I blame Big Jeff at all.

Granted, it’s hard to say the Titans “let” Autry go before knowing what they offered him (if anything at all), and I’m not exactly going to lose sleep over a rebuilding team like the Titans losing a soon-to-be 34-year-old pass-rusher.

But there’s no question it sucks to see such a good player leave, especially to a division rival. Let’s hope Derrick Henry doesn’t follow the same path…

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

1 pending free agent Chargers should target: AFC South Edition

Listing one free agent from the Texans, Titans, Colts and Jaguars who could be a fit for the Chargers.

The Chargers won’t be aggressive when it comes to signing free agents.

General manager Joe Hortiz will make some moves to have some spendings available to them so they can sign some.

That said, I will list one pending free agent from each NFL team who could be a realistic target for L.A.

Next up is the AFC South.

15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023 No. 5 Nico Collins

Up next in our “15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023” series is Nico Collins, who had a career year.

The Houston Texans had an extremely successful 2023 campaign.

They cruised to a 10-7 record under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and captured several accolades along the way. They won the AFC South and won a playoff game for the first time since the 2019 season. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud won PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, rookie edge rusher Will Anderson won PFWA’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, and even Ryans took home hardware with PFWA’s Coach of the Year.

With a revamped team effort that led to dramatic improvements compared to both the 2021 and 2022 Texans, it’s worth examining who created that impact this past season and what their future projects moving forward.

This series has taken a look at defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, running back Devin Singletary, rookie receiver Tank Dell, and veteran tackle George Fant, and upstart linebacker Blake Cashman.

Entering the top 10, we took a closer look at cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Christian Harris, and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and budding shutdown cornerback Derek Stingley

Entering the top five, the Texans offense takes center stage with none other than standout third-year wideout Nico Collins.

4 lessons for the Texans from Super Bowl 58

If the Houston Texans want a shot at a Lombardi Trophy, they should follow these lessons from Super Bowl 58.

Another NFL season has come and gone and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl champions.

The Chiefs are the first team to win repeat Super Bowl titles since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots and with their win, Kansas City’s duo of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes enters a similar “dynasty” territory the Patriots had with head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

Unfortunately for the Houston Texans, this is a team they’ll have to deal with if they ever want to compete for a Super Bowl title or even just advance to their first AFC championship game in franchise history. Mahomes will be there at the end of the tunnel for years to come.

As Houston enters a pivotal offseason where they will need to make dramatic improvements if they want to compete with Kansas City, here are four lessons from Super Bowl LVIII they should remember.

WATCH: C.J. Stroud accepts NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud thanked everyone who helped him along the way on his path tho win Offensive Player of the Year.

It’s official, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The fans had voted, the Pro Football Writers Association had voted, and the Associated Press affirmed the same sentiment. He officially accepted the award at the 2024 NFL Honors ceremony in Las Vegas on Thursday night and showed the command at the podium that those in the media have come to expect from him.

Stroud started the ceremony thanking Jesus Christ as he has done all season. He  didn’t forget to applaud those who helped him along the way after he was emotional when drafted by the Texans. This award was seemingly Stroud’s to lose as far as back as October in what was one of the greatest seasons ever from a rookie quarterback.

He is the first Offensive Rookie of the Year award winner for the Texans and the fourth total after fellow rookie Will Anderson Jr. took home Defensive Player of the Year.

J.J. Watt considered unretiring to join the Texans

Texans great J.J. Watt admitted he considered a return to the NFL to play for his old team last season.

It was speculated all season.

Ever since the Houston Texans started to win games under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud started to prove himself as one of the league’s premier players there was an overarching question that couldn’t be helped as a former Texans legend sang his praise of the new team.

Was there any chance J.J. Watt would unretire and play for Ryans?

Watt was openly working out at the facility and would admit as much when he talked about Houston’s success weekly on the Pat McAfee show. Houston had a dire need for a third pass rusher, one they eventually found in Derek Barnett, and the fit seemed logical once the Texans were playoff bound.

It turns out, fans weren’t too far off from their hopes according to Watt himself on the Pat McAfee show this week.

“Halfway through this last season, I definitely was monitoring the Steelers and Texans situations but it never escalated into any sort of actual potential,” Watt said.

He added: “I’m very pleased with the way things went. If it was something where I could have brought something that propelled someone to a potential Super Bowl, fill in a need to take them to a new level. Just to do it would have been ridiculous.”

It sounds like Watt would have only truly considered it if he could have played with his brothers or if the Texans had been clear Super Bowl contender rather than a plucky underdog in the playoffs.

Still, it’s interesting to hear the future Hall of Famer and future Texans Ring of Honor player admit that it was under consideration during the year.

Houston will have to find other ways to boost their pass rush moving forward. Breakout player Jonathan Greenard is an unrestricted free agent as well as midseason addition Derek Barnett. Their ability to pair another player with young star Will Anderson will be one to monitor as Ryans looks to assemble a Super Bowl-caliber defense.