3 free-agent moves from AFC South rivals that should concern Texans fans

The Houston Texans surprised everyone in 2023 when they not only were a competitive team but ended up winning the AFC South and a playoff game. That being said, two other AFC South teams came up just shy of reaching the postseason and the other teams now know that the Texans shouldn't be taken lightly.

Let's look at one move from each of the Texans' AFC South rivals that should concern Texans fans entering the 2024 season.

Titans trading for L'Jarius Sneed

The Tennessee Titans were the only team in the AFC South to finish with a losing record in 2023. The Ryan Tannehill era is over in Nashville and now the Titans are hoping that Will Levis can lead them back to the postseason. They hired Brian Callahan, former Bengals offensive coordinator, to take over the head coaching duties and brought in some offensive talent like Calvin Ridley to help Levis take the next step.

The scariest move that the Titans made when it comes to their match-ups with the Texans, however, is trading for L'Jarius Sneed. The Kansas City Chiefs traded Sneed to the Titans and it's a great addition to the Titans defense, as they'll now have one of the best cornerbacks in the league in their secondary.

This is going to make things a little trickier for C.J. Stroud whenever the Texans and Titans match up but let's just hope that Sneed's success in Kansas City doesn't follow him to Nashville.

Jaguars signing Arik Armstead

Flashback to a year ago and the Jaguars were getting the same treatment that the Texans are currently getting. Jacksonville won the division behind a stellar season from Trevor Lawrence and came from behind to beat the Chargers in the wild card round. It felt like they'd continue to be the team to beat in the AFC South and for the first few weeks of the 2023 season, they were.

Then, Lawrence got hurt and the Jags began to stumble as he wasn't fully healthy and the team struggled as a result. The Texans managed to steal the division away from Jacksonville and now they're getting the team to beat in the AFC South treatment, and for good reason.

That being said, the Jaguars signed Arik Armstead to their defense and it was a solid move for them. Armstead had 5.0 sacks for the 49ers last year and at his best, has been able to tally double-digit sacks in a single season (10.0 sacks in 2019). The Jaguars added help to their pass-rush and Armstead will be coming after Stroud.

Colts re-signing Michael Pittman Jr.

The Colts came up just shy of making it to the playoffs (thanks to the Texans) but they're getting Anthony Richardson back and healthy in 2024, which could be scary. Richardson looked good in limited action during his rookie season and the Colts made sure he had his best weapon at his disposal.

That's right, Michael Pittman Jr. re-signed with the Colts in free agency and will continue to be one of the biggest pass-catching threats for Indianapolis. Overall, Pittman had over 1,100 receiving yards and four touchdowns during the 2023 season and that was without Richardson throwing to him (though Gardner Minshew is no slouch).

Ptitman didn't torch the Texans in 2023, tallying 56 yards against them in one game and 44 yards in another game. The year prior, however, he had a nine-catch, 121 yard performance against Houston but we can all agree that the 2022 and 2023 Texans teams were nowhere close to each other.

Still, Pittman has the ability to be a dominant force anytime the ball goes in his direction so Texans fans shouldn't love that he's back in Indianapolis.