2021 was a redemptive year for Justin Britt.
The former Seattle Seahawks 2014 second-round pick was out of football entirely in 2020 despite a couple tryouts at the beginning and end of that regular season. Britt needed a comeback after tearing his ACL in October of 2019, his last year with the Seahawks.
With the Houston Texans, who signed Britt to a one-year contract, he was able to play 11 games, starting in all of them, at center as he worked back from his knee injury.
“I had a blast this year,” Britt said. “The wins and losses obviously speak for themselves, but aside from that, this group of guys, this staff, I had an enjoyable time coming off a year away from football. This is kind of everything I would want other than wins.”
According to Britt, being able to come to work and watch the growth of the team throughout the 17-game season was what influences him to want to stay in Houston — pending circumstances are favorable.
Said Britt: “Coming to work every week with this group of guys and to see how we grew and the steps we took, would I come back here? Yeah, if everything was right and the way it needed to be, I would love to come back here and be around these men again.”
In four of the six games Britt did not play, rookie sixth-rounder Jimmy Morrissey from Pitt started at center. The Texans signed the former Las Vegas Raiders selection off their practice squad to shore up their interior offensive line in late October as Britt missed playing time. If Britt were to come back, it is possible he would have to beat out Morrissey, although his status for 2022 is ambiguous given he is an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason.
