The Houston Texans made a big move on Thursday prior to their 28-26 loss to the Green Bay Packers that same day. By trading in running back Duke Johnson, they made an instant upgrade at the position and on the offense as a whole.
Naturally, the team and coaches are excited to see a talent like Johnson arriving from the Cleveland Browns to replace former backup to Lamar Miller, D’Onta Foreman, who was released last week.
“I’m excited every day I come to work,” running backs coach Danny Barrett told the media Monday.
“You guys know that about myself, but any time you can get a proven commodity like himself coming in — he’s experienced, he’s been in the league and one of the things we’ve talked about as far is what is the next step for him,” Barrett said.
Entering his fifth year in the NFL, Johnson already has 1,286 rushing and 2,170 receiving yards to his name. However, he has yet to appear in a single playoff game, something that he is keen to remedy.
Said Barrett: “He expressed himself as hasn’t been on a winning record, haven’t been to the playoffs, so I said, ‘Hey, well that’s what our goal is, to take it one step further and even further than that.’ He’s all in. He’s a football guy and I like that.”
A dual-threat back with a proven track record and plenty of tread left on the tires, Houston has the right to be optimistic.
