Tyrann Mathieu was released Wednesday. Friday, he found a new home -- albeit for one year, at least for now.
The Honey Badger agreed to to a deal with the Houston Texans for one year. Reportedly, the Cardinals' last offer on the pay cut was $8 million. Mathieu said a couple of times in interviews since his release money wasn't the most important thing. The Houston Chronicle's John McClain reports that the deal is worth $7 million -- a $4.5 million signing bonus, $2 million in salary, and $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses (which would average $31,250 per game).
The Texans, assuming quarterback Deshaun Watson is healthy again after tearing his ACL, have a chance to be good. They also will get back from injury defensive end J.J. Watt -- who is friends with Mathieu and who was openly recruiting Badger to come to Houston.
Whatever the contract, Mathieu will be in line to return to free agency in 2019. If he is able to take his game back to its 2015 levels, the bet on himself will be pretty valuable. The Cardinals don't face the Texans in the regular season, but a preseason matchup wouldn't be out of the question.
As a side note, guard Justin Pugh has also reportedly agreed to a deal with the Cardinals. I'd expect news on that tomorrow. Meanwhile, wide receiver Jaron Brown is headed to the Seahawks on a one-year contract.
