Cornerback Steven Nelson had a career season with the Houston Texans.
Despite turning 30 this past year, he started 16 of 17 games for Houston while totaling 63 tackles, 12 passes defended and four interceptions during the regular season. He was a big part of the Texans’ playoff push and even had a spectacular pick-6 of Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco during the team’s wild-card round victory.
Before the huge season, however, there was training camp.
Nelson publicly feuded with the Texans organization about believing he had earned a raise following a strong 2022 campaign in coach Lovie Smith’s system and wanted better earnings on the one year remaining on his contract. After a few months of negotiation, Nelson lashed out on Instagram on June 28 prior to training camp.
He posted a picture of general manager Nick Caserio’s classic vest with the caption: “Can’t trust someone that wears one of these everyday of the week, clown freak.”
Despite not listing his name, it was obvious who Nelson was referring to. They did eventually reach a contract compromise during training camp, but fans will remember the post all the same.
On his new podcast “The Corner Suite,” Nelson recently discussed this dispute, his regret for it, and how surprised he was at its explosion on social media.
Steven Nelson on when he went public on Instagram about his contract dispute this past off-season:
“I made a little joke about Nick’s vest, or wardrobe, whatever the case may be. I didn’t think it would be as viral as it went… I didn’t even mention the guy’s name.” pic.twitter.com/UbCh8ZQHxv
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) February 14, 2024
“What’s crazy is, I made a little joke about Nick’s vest, or wardrobe, whatever the case may be,” Nelson said. “I didn’t think it would be as viral as it went. Plus, I didn’t even mention the guy’s name.
“That just goes to show the power of social media. You’ve got all these millions of random people, they’re going to blow everything up. You’ve got people with podcasts, the radio stations, they blew it up.”
The debut episode also features Nelson discussing the team’s transition under head coach DeMeco Ryans, his rise to captaincy with the team, and an overall assessment of his performance in the 2023 season.
Fans will have to see if Nelson and Caserio can yet again agree to a compromise, this time one that would bring the cornerback back to Houston for the 2024 season. He’s a pending free agent and his departure could leave a huge hole at cornerback for the Texans.