Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Houston's priorities in free agency
By Tim Kavanagh
The Houston Texans had bigger goals than losing in the divisional round of the AFC bracket in 2012, but such was the case for a second-straight season. In order to take the next step, they'll need to assess which pieces of their on-field product worked and which didn't, potentially replacing them with veteran free agents or draft picks.
Two key pieces of the Texans' defense that are set to hit free agency this offseason are OLB Connor Barwin and S Glover Quin. Texans blog Battle Red Blog analyzed all the team's impending free agents, indicating that while Barwin would only be back if the price was right (meaning that a market didn't form for his services), Demps was a player that Houston must re-sign, as he is a key part of Wade Phillips' defense.
If Barwin heads elsewhere, the Texans may have some other 3-4 OLBs hitting free agency from which to choose, including Anthony Spencer and Paul Kruger -- though they themselves may draw a huge market. At safety, this free agent class also includes Dashon Goldson, William Moore, Jairus Byrd and Louis Delmas.
