Houston Texans: Priority No. 1: Re-Sign Kareem Jackson

It’s the Houston Texans off-season and there’s a lot of speculation as to what this team will look like in 2015.

After the team completing the best turnaround from one season to the next in franchise history, it’s now time to get to work on making this team even better.

Let’s face it — this team completely overachieved this season.

We weren’t blessed with all of the talent the other teams have and still were able to churn out a 9-7 record.

This was a result of top-notch coaching by Bill O’Brien and his staff who have really carved a niche as far as how they’d like their team to perform.

I honestly didn’t see O’Brien not doing a good job because just about everywhere he has gone in his career, he has maintained programs and pointed their personal compasses toward success when he’d leave.

In other words, things were in great shape when he’d transition from one job to the other.

Just look at what he did at Penn State — he led the disqualified Nittany Lions to a 15-9 record during his tenure. No need to explain why they were disqualified, you already know.

It could’ve been a lot worse and he develops players to their full potential.

Yes, Matt McGloin is an NFL quarterback!

Would he have been had he not been playing under O’Brien? Likely not.

So fast-forward to his first NFL head coaching job with the Texans — he’s doing the same thing here.

His staff is dedicated to making sure the players give only their best out on the field.

Romeo Crennel seems to have invested himself and believes in that mantra of development and excellence.

One of those individuals is Kareem Jackson.

He is an unrestricted free agent this off-season after completing his five-year, $13.52 million rookie-sized contract that paid him about $2.7 million per season.

The Texans’ 2010 first-round draft pick –20th overall — will be looking for a pay raise and rightfully so.

He has gotten better season-after-season as he grows into being the best corner back the Texans have.

Do you think I would’ve said that a few seasons ago?

Hell no!

Sep 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Houston Texans cornerback

Kareem Jackson

(25) and Houston Texans defensive back

Darryl Morris

(26) stop a long pass attempt to New York Giants wide receiver

Rueben Randle

(82)at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

I was wanting to have this guy cut from the team because the only thing he could cover was his face when putting his helmet on.

He was continuously being burnt by multiple team’s receiving corps but now there’s nothing I can say.

I never thought I’d say this but Rick Smith or whomever is going to be running the Texans needs to make it a priority to re-sign him.

Whenever I see him out there, I have a sense of comfort knowing that at least his side of the field will be covered effectively.

Whenever he missed three games this past season because of a knee injury, I actually was worried how the backfield would be affected by his absence.

That stretch included taking on the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans.

Luckily, guys like A.J. Bouye and Darryl Morris stepped up in his absence and the Texans went 2-1 without him.

Could the Texans have beat the Bengals had Kareem been healthy?

It’s quite possible because other than Morris, our defensive backs were getting toasted left-and-right by A.J. Green (121 yards) and Mohamed Sanu‘s (48 yards, 1 touchdown) wrath. It was to the point of where it was painful to watch.

Dec 21, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans cornerback

Kareem Jackson

(25) celebrates his interception with teammates during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

I actually was in attendance at the game at NRG Stadium — the lethargy of the crowd was evident as the game wore on.

Green was catching pass-after-pass as if he were unstoppable.

Okay, let me clean that up. He was.

But I think our guys did the best they could to stop him — but Green is just too good.

Anyway, teams with gobs of cap space may be calling such as the Jags, Raiders, Jets and Titans wanting to sign the budding star. These teams possess between $60 to $40 million worth of space respectively and could easily afford the raise that I know that we can all assume is seeking.

But are these teams closer to success than the Texans?

No.

I say that emphatically and unequivocally.

That’s why the Texans need to figure out a deal that is a win-win situation for Jackson and the franchise itself.

But they may have to let him go if the offer those teams make has numbers that go to the moon and back.

They’ll have to make some tough decisions with our current roster in order to keep him.

The Texans will have to figure out how to keep Andre Johnson, but with him taking a pay cut, things would be a lot easier for them to do so.

I’ve already advised him to go on and take that pay cut and I tell you why. Take a look at it here.

Johnathan Joseph‘s — another Texan who they will have to negotiate with this season — his cap hit is north of $12 million this season, there’s no way we can keep him and build unless he’s willing to take a cut too.

Oct 9, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback

Andrew Luck

(12) shakes hands with Houston Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson (25) after the game at NRG Stadium. The Colts defeated the Texans 33-28. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s the deal — the Texans have got to get this done.

Maybe the players can flip a coin, challenge each other to an arm wrestling match, play a game of horse — the loser has to take the pay cut…whatever.

There has to be some method to madness of finding some cash to sign this star on the rise.

The Texans still remain cap poor with about $10.3 million to work with but this can be done.

Jackson, 26, had 57 combined tackles, three interceptions and nine passes defended in 13 games last season.

Hardly numbers that are Pro Bowl-esque but our secondary lead the league in takeaways this season.

Are you going to tell me that Jackson didn’t contribute to that?

He did and will continue to flourish under Crennel’s defensive schemes.