The Houston Texans made one of the best free agency acquisitions of the year in 2018 with the signing of former Arizona Cardinals All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu.
The LSU product signed a one-year, prove it all $7 million deal which proved to be an absolute bargain for a locker room and gridiron leader, and top-level performer alongside impressive rookie safety Justin Reid.
Unfortunately for Houston, they were unable to keep hold of him as he opted to reject the Texans’ new deal this offseason in favor of a move to the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the loss of a locker room leader, one that his teammates voted captain despite spending just an offseason with him, doesn’t bother coach Bill O’Brien.
“Tyrann did a good job for us,” O’Brien said at the AFC coaches breakfast Tuesday. “He practiced every day, was a good guy in the locker room, went out there on the field and made plays for us. That was last year. Now we’re moving on to this year. We tried to do the best we could to keep him.”
The Texans’ best wasn’t good enough as the Honey Badger inked a three-year contract with the AFC West champions.
“He had a great opportunity with the Chiefs, and we wish him the best,” said O’Brien. “He’s a great guy, awesome competitor and good leader, but you have to turn the page. You have to move on.”
Looking ahead, the Texans signed former Jacksonville Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson on a three-year deal, and O’Brien is optimistic about Mathieu’s replacement.
Said O’Brien: “We feel like, in Tashaun Gipson, that we’ve got a guy that has a lot of experience, a lot of different defensive schemes whether it was Cleveland or Jacksonville, the places that he’s been. We feel good about his ability to come in here and help us.”
If Gipson can help out the Texans defense in the way they envision, then there shouldn’t be any druthers on the part of the Texans in 2019.
