Houston Texans: Whitney Mercilus joining first-place Packers

Getting released by the Houston Texans this week might have been the best thing to happen to Whitney Mercilus. Now his week has really improved as he’s now going to be employed by the Green Bay Packers.

Mercilus has went from the Houston Texans who are 1-5 overall to the Packers who have a record of 5-1 and are in first place in the NFC Central. They have a two-game lead on the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears who are 3-3 overall.

The defensive end/outside linebacker Mercilus is the second former Houston Texans player to join the Packers this season, as the franchise traded Randall Cobb to Green Bay before the start of the regular season. Mercilus played 10 seasons with the Texans, and with Houston and defense getting younger seemly each week, it wasn’t a huge surprise he was released.

In 2021 Mercilus has played in six games, making two starts, where he accumulated 12 tackles (six solo) and three sacks. Four of Mercilus’ tackles have been for loss, and he also has collected three quarterback hits this season, so his pass rush skills will come in handy for Green Bay.

In his 10 seasons with the Houston Texans, Mercilus collected 57 sacks, 234 solo tackles, 72 tackles for loss and 115 QB hits. He also had two interceptions, both of those coming in ’19. That is a pretty solid career, but it is too bad he didn’t get to play his entire career with the Texans.

Houston Texans: Mercilus brings needed depth to Packers defensive ends

Currently the Packers’ defensive ends on their roster include: Dean Lowry, Tyler Lancaster, Kingsley Keke, and Jeff Heflin. With Mercilus joining the team via free agency, that will be an instant boost for not only Mercilus by joining a better defense.

Moving forward there are good memories when thinking about Mercilus and his time with the Houston Texans, but for the newest member of the Packers he has a real chance to compete for a Super Bowl championship.

For the Texans it is just another veteran let go by the franchise as most of the long-term players on the team have either been traded, or given their release during this rebuild.

Again for Mercilus this is good news that he got to choose the team he wanted to join. By picking the Packers, and Green Bay wanting him, it could be exactly what he needs to finally win the Super Bowl championship.