Houston Texans: 5 moves we wish were April Fools jokes

Letting Brandon Brooks walk without a solid contingency plan

Hindsight is always 20/20, as we will see with the vast majority of this but this one sticks out for hindsight purposes. The Houston Texans had a beast and mauler of an offensive lineman in Brandon Brooks but they decided to not pay the man and let him walk in free agency.

The Texans gambled on Brooks in the third round of the 2012 draft. He was a very big kid, 6’5″ and 335 lbs, from a very small football school, Miami of Ohio University. He showed some incredible, raw potential and just need some refining of technique and changing of his body.

So, he essentially took a redshirt season his rookie year and then stepped into the starting lineup during his sophomore season. He quickly became one of the better guards in the entire league that season and has maintained that ever since with his hulking strength and undeniable consistency.

He remained a stalwart along the offensive line and protected a vast variety of quarterbacks during his years as a Texan. He quickly received renown across the league for his prowess as a pass blocker and strength in the run game.

Unfortunately, the team opted to let Brooks sign a lucrative five year, $40 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Brooks solidified their offensive line and helped them win a Super Bowl while the Texans line has become one of the worst in the league. Imagine if the team letting Brooks walk had been an April Fools joke and he was not protecting Deshaun Watson…