Former Houston Texans OLB Whitney Mercilus retires after 10 seasons

A former Houston Texans linebacker is retiring from the NFL after 10 seasons.

When Whitney Mercilus joined the Houston Texans as a first round pick of the 2012 NFL Draft he was drafted with high expectations as he was a 26th overall pick that year.

The investment the Texans made in selecting Mercilus saw him play most of his 10 NFL seasons with the franchise, becoming one of the best players to ever wear a Texans uniform, including playing in the most regular season games in Texans history.

Though Mercilus played his final NFL games with the Green Bay Packers in ’21 he’ll always be remembered for his time with the Texans as he second all-time in sacks for the Texans, trailing only J.J. Watt in that category.

Below is a tweet about the retirement of Mercilus:

Mercilus had 57 sacks while playing for the Texans, playing 134 games with the franchise, 102 which were starts. Other stats Mercilus had with the Houston Texans included 228 solo tackles, 72 tackles for loss, and 115 QB hits. Mercilus also during his career with the Texans finished with two interceptions, seven passes defensed, 13 forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

Also, in his time with the Texans, Mercilus played in eight playoff games (five starts) where his totals included one pass defensed, one forced fumble, seven sacks, 16 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 13 QB hits.

Mercilus is also 12th all-time in Houston Texans history in combined tackles (357) and 13th all-time in solo tackles.

Houston Texans: What were some of Whitney Mercilus’ best games?

Thirteen times Mercilus – while a member of the Houston Texans – had two or more sacks in a game, and twice he had 3.5 sacks in games against the Tennessee Titans (2015) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (2016).

Against the Minnesota Vikings in ’16 Mercilus had a career-high five QB hits, and his two career interceptions came in ’19 against the New Orleans Saints and the Titans. Also, against the Titans in ’15 Mercilus had a career-high five tackles for loss. Twice against the Jaguars (in ’18 and ’19) Mercilus had two forced fumbles.

Though Mercilus was released by the Texans in Oct. 2021, and he played his final four games with the Packers, the highlights of his career are with the Texans. Mercilus could one day see his name on the Houston Texans Ring of Honor.

Mercilus deserves a big congratulations for his 10-year NFL career in the NFL, with a majority of those games being played with the Texans. Best of luck to Whitney Mercilus and he deserves a “thank you” for all he did for the franchise.