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Aftermath of Houston Texans releasing Kevin Johnson

By Jair Lopez

FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Kevin Johnson #30 of the Houston Texans is unable to tackle James White #28 of the New England Patriots as he runs with the ball on his way to scoring a touchdown during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Kevin Johnson #30 of the Houston Texans is unable to tackle James White #28 of the New England Patriots as he runs with the ball on his way to scoring a touchdown during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Houston Texans 2015 first round draft selection cornerback Kevin Johnson has been released after being discussed in trade talks around the league.

The Houston Texans appear to have made their decision on their 2015 first draft selection, Kevin Johnson.  Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported that Texans general manager Brian Gaine was noncommital of Johnson’s future with the team.

"“Kevin has had some tough luck the last few years,” Texans general manager Brian Gaine said at the NFL scouting combine. “We’re still rounding out some roster decisions. We haven’t finalized anything, nothing’s been conclusive in terms of some of these decisions. Some of them are football decisions, some of them are financial decisions."

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NFL reporter Ian Rapoport reported while the NFL combine was taking place that the Texans were in trade conversations with other NFL teams about moving on from Johnson this offseason, and announced that the Texans released him today.

Johnson wasn’t able to solidify his billing as a first-round pick dealing with foot, knee, hand, and head injuries in his first four seasons in the league.  Johnson only played 16 games once, and it came in his rookie season in the NFL. Since then Johnson has played in 19 games in the next three seasons.

He was entering the fifth and final year of his rookie scale contract after the Texans opted to exercise the option as a former first-round pick last offseason before the deadline. Texans will save $9.1 million by releasing him ahead of the start of the 2019 season.

Gaine and the Texans coaching staff will have their hands busy finding and retaining talent in the secondary with Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson hitting free agency next Wednesday afternoon. Texans will essentially have to overhaul the cornerback position after doing so with the safety group a season ago.

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Johnathan Joseph, Aaron Colvin, Jermaine Kelly Jr., Deante Burton, and Johnson Bademosi are the only cornerbacks under contract for 2019. Joseph and Colvin were the only cornerbacks that played in a minimum of 10 games at cornerback. but Colvin’s ankle injury early in the season slowed his development after signing with the Texans in free agency. With the Texans moving on from Johnson, they will be going all in with rebuilding their core at cornerback.

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