The Cardinals released Tyrann Mathieu the other day, after being unable to work out a paycut that would have retained him at a lower salary. The Honey Badger didn't take long to find work, signing with the Houston Texans. Looks like a really nice fit with a defense that needs him.
Mathieu has battled injuries in his NFL career, but when on the field, he's shown some playmaking ability. He has 11 interceptions and 4 forced fumbles, with his best season his healthy 2015: 6 forced turnovers, including one brought back for a touchdown.
Houston, meanwhile, has been very much a lesser group in those areas. Over the past two seasons, it has only 33 takeaways. The only teams worse in that regard the last two years are the Jets and Browns.
TEAM TAKEAWAYS, 2016-2017 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 16fum | 16int | 16tk | 17fum | 17int | 17tk | Take |
Baltimore | 10 | 18 | 28 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 62 |
Kansas City | 15 | 18 | 33 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 59 |
Philadelphia | 10 | 16 | 26 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 57 |
LA Chargers | 10 | 18 | 28 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 55 |
Tampa Bay | 12 | 17 | 29 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 55 |
Arizona | 14 | 14 | 28 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 49 |
Carolina | 10 | 17 | 27 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 48 |
Green Bay | 8 | 17 | 25 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 47 |
Jacksonville | 6 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 46 |
LA Rams | 8 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 46 |
Detroit | 4 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 46 |
New Orleans | 12 | 9 | 21 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 46 |
Minnesota | 13 | 14 | 27 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 46 |
Pittsburgh | 10 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 45 |
Seattle | 8 | 11 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 44 |
Denver | 13 | 14 | 27 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 44 |
NY Giants | 8 | 17 | 25 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 44 |
Oakland | 14 | 16 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 44 |
Washington | 7 | 13 | 20 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 43 |
Buffalo | 6 | 12 | 18 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 43 |
Dallas | 11 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 41 |
New England | 10 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 41 |
Miami | 9 | 16 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 40 |
San Francisco | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 40 |
Tennessee | 6 | 12 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 39 |
Atlanta | 10 | 12 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 38 |
Indianapolis | 9 | 8 | 17 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 37 |
Cincinnati | 3 | 17 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 34 |
Chicago | 3 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 33 |
Houston | 6 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 33 |
NY Jets | 4 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32 |
Cleveland | 3 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 26 |
Mathieu will need to stay on the field, and other players on the defense will need to step up. But a nice addition for Houston's defense.
--Andy Richardson