The Houston Texans were so close to getting one of the best free agents, and really one of the best players, in the NFL this offseason, but just missed out. But it still worked out for them, as most people considered the Texans to have had the best free agency of any team.
They still went and traded for Joe Mixon, which is a much cheaper way of getting a really good running back, something the Texans desperately wanted to do. They also grabbed Danielle Hunter to play defensive end, one of the more splashy free-agency moves.
But a large portion of the fan base still wanted Saquon Barkley, and let's just say he wanted the Texans, too.
"I'm going to be honest here, right? This is what the show is for," Barkley said on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. "Really, the first team that had my first interest was Houston. It was Houston. I got to communicate with C.J. [Stroud] and a couple of those boys.
"But this was before all of the when you actually put offers on the table and talk to teams. As it got closer, you start hearing words, and it's like, okay, Philly, I probably never imagined myself playing in Philly six years ago, but I get to come back to Pennsylvania; my family is from Pennslyvania; my lady is from Pennsylvania..."
This just shows that players want to go play in Houston after what they did last year. They used to be the laughingstock of the NFL, and rightfully so. They consistently had single-digit wins for years on end and even had three wins the year before this last year. When you turn around a program that fast, and you make the playoffs and win a playoff game, people will want to play for you.
Then you add in the fact they have DeMeco Ryans, a former player, and a player's coach, and it adds another layer to it all. The Texans are a team players want to play for, and it will only get better.
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