Getty This veteran edge-rusher is the Cardinals perfect replacement for Chandler Jones.
Chandler Jones didn’t get the franchise tag from the Arizona Cardinals, so the team’s all-time sack leader will likely find a new home during free agency. It means an already suspect defense will lose the one edge-rusher opposing teams fear.
Replacing Jones won’t be easy, but the Cards can find the right player if they “target” a veteran identified by one NFL analyst. Like Jones, this pass-rusher is the wrong side of 30, but he also owns a stellar track record of getting to the quarterback.
ALL the latest Cardinals news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Cardinals newsletter here!
Swapping One 100-Plus Sack King for Another Makes Sense
Losing Jones means saying goodbye to a player with 107.5 career sacks to his name. Jones logged 71.5 of those quarterback takedowns after being traded to the Cardinals from the New England Patriots in 2016.
Not many players are able to boast the same level of production, but Justin Houston is one of the few who can. That’s why Pro Football Network’s Dalton Miller believes 33-year-old Houston is perfect for the Cardinals: “Justin Houston should be a target for Arizona. He wouldn’t play a considerable number of snaps, but his work as a designated edge rusher is still precious.”
Houston has 102 sacks to his credit during a career that’s taken in stops with the Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens. What Houston doesn’t have is a strong recent output.
He recorded a mere 4.5 sacks with the Ravens in 2021, but Houston is still a disruptive playmaker who can win from either edge, like he did for this sack against Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders from Week 1:
Justin Houston goes right by Alex Leatherwood 😳
Houston shares many similarities with Jones, including the ability to win as a standup rusher or put his hand in the dirt and create havoc as a traditional defensive end. There’s also Houston’s experience playing in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, something that should appeal to Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who is still trying to make a multiple-front system work.
Houston would be an asset in this scheme and for a price the Cards could handle.
Houston’s Projected Contract Suits Cardinals
Signing impact players in this year’s market won’t be easy for Cards’ general manager Steve Keim. Not when the franchise is projected by Spotrac.com to have just $5,529,584 worth of space under the salary cap.
Fortunately, Houston could be acquired on terms that wouldn’t break the bank. Keim would surely make room for a contract Pro Football Focus predicts will cover one year at a cost of $7 million in guaranteed money.
A short-term deal makes sense for the Cardinals, not least because the prospect of a contract extension for quarterback Kyler Murray isn’t going away. There are also other positions to fix in free agency, including running back, cornerback and possibly adding a wide receiver or two, considering Christian Kirk and A.J. Green are set to hit the market.
Putting Houston alongside J.J. Watt and Markus Golden would be a cost-effective way of ensuring the pass rush is strong this season. Signing players in the winters of their careers hasn’t been a problem for Keim, who moved to acquire Watt, Green and 31-year-old tight end Zach Ertz last season.
Houston could be the next ageing star to make his way to Arizona, where he’d surely boost a pass rush that recorded just 41 sacks a year ago.