The Houston Texans are in a win-now mode. The team is stacked to the gills with stellar talent and a front office that may be the best in franchise history. Now, it's about turning all of these good moves, goodwill, and core roster base into a championship contender. To do that everyone is going to have to up their game.
Even positions of concern like safety. The team went into 2024 with the idea of improving their entire secondary and did just that by revamping the cornerback room and adding 2024 draft pick Calen Bullock to the safeties room. Things are looking up but we still don't know if the changes will turn into improvements. That's something only time will tell.
So it's a bit shocking that four-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler Justin Simmons is not a member of the roster yet. The 30-year-old safety was released by the Denver Broncos this offseason, right after earning his fourth All-Pro and second Pro Bowl honors at safety. He remains one of the best players in his position and is far from done.
Yet, for some reason, the Texans have not expressed interest in him. It may be the team believing in their current crop of players at safety, and not wanting to disrupt that by bringing in Simmons. It may also be a money thing, maybe they know Simmons is out of their price range and won't bother submitting an offer believing he'll say 'no'. It could just be that the Texans have a different view of Simmons as a player right now.
With Simmons having a strong interest in the Houston Texans, it seems odd that the team wouldn't at least put an offer out there for him. The crop of safeties isn't so good that the Texans can't afford some competition. Especially when you realize Jimmie Ward and Jalen Pitre didn't exactly blow away critics last year with their performances. They're far from bad, but Simmons could be an instant upgrade over Pitre or Ward.
The Texans are foolish for not looking into this former All-Pro more closely. If he didn't just have an All-Pro caliber season, sure, there's an argument to be made to not even consider him, but this man is coming off of one of his best seasons ever. Surely that deserves a look.