After his time in Kansas City ended, the Indianapolis Colts quickly swooped in to sign veteran defensive end Justin Houston to a two-year contract before the 2019 season.
They got a strong return on investment in Year 1, and now the 31-year-old enters the final year of his contact. After leading the team in sacks (11.0) in 2019, Houston wants to keep playing even after his current contract is through.
However, he’s not focusing on what his next contract might look like.
“I definitely want to continue to play football, but whether I want to play here – I haven’t even thought that far ahead,” Houston told reporters Friday. “I just want to focus on one game at a time, one day at a time. Right now, I’m just focused on this season. Whatever happens after that, I’ll leave it up to God.”
Houston proved to everyone he has plenty left in the tank. He gave the Colts a steady presence from the edge and finally Indy had some consistent production in the pass rush.
While Houston proved he can be the leader of a pass-rush corps, he may not have to carry that burden alone. The Colts added defensive tackle DeForest Buckner by giving up their first-round pick.
The addition of Buckner should command the attention of opposing offensive lines, giving Houston more 1-on-1 matchups to work with.
“I definitely do. I feel like when you have a guy like that up the middle, the guard can’t slide out and help as much as he usually does,” Houston said. “They definitely have to take care of him before they take care of me, and that will give me more of a one-on-one opportunity.”
The Colts front seven has a chance to break into the top-10 units around the league, and the pass rush will be led by the veteran in Houston, who continues to thrive regardless of the situation he’s in.
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