Houston Texans make a smart move by retaining Brandon Dunn

The Houston Texans re-sign nose tackle Brandon Dunn with the start of free agency less than a month away.

The Houston Texans announced they reached a new deal for Brandon Dunn to remain with the team for the near future. Dunn signed a one year tender for the 2019 season and was due for a new contract after the season concluded. Despite not being a starter for the Texans, Dunn has been a mainstay in the defensive line rotation through the years since joining the team in 2015.

Dunn arrived to the league in 2014 as an undrafted free agent from Louisville and signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad before being poached by Houston. Dunn had his ups and downs in the league by being released by the Bears and Texans multiple times, but he finally found his niche in the league as a solid interior run defender.

More from Toro Times

• Houston Texans already telling fans the Davis Mills era is over
• Houston Texans have hand forced, waste no time in firing Lovie Smith
• Houston Texans: Pros and Cons of keeping Head Coach Lovie Smith
• There is just one way the Texans can lose the No. 1 pick
• Celebrate an amazing career with a new JJ Watt shirt from BreakingT

Dunn is a player familiar with how the Texans like to run things and has been with Bill O’Brien every year except for his first year as head coach in 2014. With the role of general manager, O’Brien played a big part in Dunn’s return to the Texans for the next three years.

Recently promoted defensive coordinator, Coach Anthony Weaver also worked with Dunn as the defensive line coach and he wouldn’t have been back without his stamp of approval.

Weaver will continue to work with the defensive linemen as the Texans’ new defensive coordinator. The Texans have Charles Omenihu, Angelo Blackson, J.J. Watt, Eddie Vanderdoes, Carlos Watkins, and Dunn under contract for the 2020 season.

Retaining Dunn also makes sense with D.J. Reader’s future still in the air as NFL free agency fast approaches. The Texans have made it known that they wish to keep Reader, but it’ll take both sides to reach an agreement as Reader is one of the better players at his position entering free agency.

Dunn’s three-year deal worth up to $12 million is similar to the deal that Blackson signed the previous offseason with the Texans. The deal itself is a great value both sides as Dunn earn some financial stability and Houston keeps a rotational run-stopper for the next three seasons.