Houston Texans: Five ways to improve the roster before week one
By T.A. Mock
John Simon, OLB
The Houston Texans picked up John Simon from the Baltimore Ravens back in 2014. He quickly became a stalwart and a consistent presence on the Texans after that. He played in 38 games and started 13 across three years for the Texans.
In those three years, he provided solid coverage from the linebacker position and sound tackling. He also collected 10 sacks across those three years. Simon managed to record 112 tackles as well. After these three years, Simon parlayed his solid play into a shiny new deal with the Colts.
He then had a very Simon season his first year with Colts, solid yet unspectacular. He amassed three sacks and 42 tackles and notched one interception. All in all, a pretty solid year, especially considered he was limited to only nine games.
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With the coaching change, the Colts switched from a 3-4 defense where a guy like Simon can thrive, to a 4-3 where he becomes an extremely undersized defensive end. The Colts gave him a shot to see if he could make the switch but, at the end of the day, the decided it wouldn’t work out and cut him loose.
The Texans should absolutely look into bringing Simon back. He adds versatility and depth at the outside linebacker position. He can also fill in in pinch at inside linebacker. This likely means Peter Kalambayi or Brennan Scarlett would lose their spot on the roster but, it could be worth it.
Other guys in the same position the team could target are Steven Means formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, Daeshon Hall formerly of the Carolina Panthers, and Hau’oli Kikaha formerly of the New Oreleans Saints.