Moving Justin Houston…Should Chiefs consider the unthinkable?
By John McCarty
Sep 7, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) signals to the crowd during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium. The Titans won 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The first team, and best fit for Houston outside of the Chiefs, would be the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis is in win-now mode, before Andrew Luck has to do a contract extension and the organization has to re-do its roster. Much of the Colts offseason moves were with the idea of winning now. Adding veteran receiver Andre Johnson and running back Frank Gore are certainly not moves made with the long-term future in mind. The Colts also have a decent amount of cap room, thanks in large part to having a quarterback on a rookie contract.
Indianapolis will also be drafting in the back of round one, assuming they don’t trip up against a rather weak AFC South. Combine all that with an owner and general manager willing to take chances (they did trade a first-round pick for Trent Richardson after all) and you have a team that may be interested in trading for an elite pass-rusher.
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The Philadelphia Eagles are another team that could possibly need a pass-rusher. For all the grief that first-round pick Dee Ford received last year, Marcus Smith was picked by the Eagles and contributed less then nothing his rookie season. He saw action in eight games, and failed to record a stat. Philadelphia runs a similar defensive scheme to the Chiefs and could obviously use a pass rusher. The loss of their second-round pick in the Sam Bradford deal hinders their ability to make a deal, but with Chip Kelly, nothing can be taken for granted.
Next, we look at the Atlanta Falcons. Houston is from the state of Georgia and played his college ball for the Bulldogs in Athens. Atlanta could use a pass-rusher, especially in the NFC South, with a slew of good quarterbacks to contend with. Drew Brees can still sling it, Cam Newton is a beast with his versatility and Jameis Winston was the top-overall selection in April’s NFL Draft.
Scott Pioli currently works in the Atlanta front office, and the Falcons have shown a willingness to take on Pioli-drafted Chiefs players. Atlanta also wants to win right now. General Manager Thomas Dimitroff is already feeling heat and could feel compelled to make a move for Houston. Could the Falcons view pairing Houston with first-round pick Vic Beasley on the outside and making their team better, in a last ditch effort to go for it and win in the playoffs?
The Jacksonville Jaguars could be another team interested, though Houston would probably be moved to defensive end in the 4-3 scheme the Jaguars run. Still, Jacksonville may be reluctant to trade what could possibly be a very high first-round pick.
An outside-the-box team could be the Green Bay Packers. While this idea runs upstream from all that the Packers do, they have a limited window to win with Aaron Rodgers and the rest of that team. The Packers have had issues with their pass rush, and someone like Houston could go a long way. Obviously, highly unlikely to happen.
In summation, I’d expect the Chiefs and Houston to come to terms on a deal, likely to be announced around the July 15 deadline. It is highly unlikely there are any trades. However, until there is a deal, one must look at and consider all options in building a football team.