The Houston Texans are continuing their purge on the list. On Friday, the team launched the running back Duke Johnson, which he acquired from Cleveland Browns before the 2019 season in exchange for a choice in the third round of the draft.
Former head coach and de facto general manager Bill O’Brien closed the deal for Johnson after an injury to incumbent Lamar Miller, but finally decided to hand over the reins for commercial acquisition in late August Carlos Hyde. Johnson was then relegated to a reserve role of a similar size to the one he played in Cleveland, and he was again effective on a touch basis and in creating missed tackles and great passes in the passing game.
The Texans then let Hyde go free, only to acquire David Johnson in the disastrous DeAndre Hopkins trade. David Johnson was the leader ahead of Duke for most of the 2020 season, although Duke replaced during the games David lost due to injuries. The 2020 campaign was Duke’s least effective as a pro, with his average yards per touch dropping from 6.5 during the first five years of his career to just 4.6 last season.
Speaking of David, however, Aaron Wilson of Houston Chronicle reports that Texans would like to retain him for the next season. He is under contract until 2021, but Wilson notes that the team would like to reduce its $ 8.512 million limit. If Houston released David in a similar way to Duke, they would release about $ 6.7 million of the limit.
Meanwhile, Duke’s release saved Texans about $ 5 million in the salary cap in 2021 and sent him to the free agent market at age 27. Still a strong and evasive pass catcher in the open, Johnson should attract the interest of teams that need a versatile player who can contribute to the passing game. Among others, Steelers, Titans, Raiders, Buccaneers and Seahawks seem to fit in with potential.