5 Houston Texans impending free agents who need to be brought back

2. DL Jonathan Greenard

A product of both the University of Louisville and the University of Florida, the former Cardinals’ and Gators’ specimen really came into his own in his fourth NFL campaign.

A third-round pick of the Texans in 2020, defensive end Jonathan Greenard easily enjoyed a career campaign under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and coordinator Matt Burke. He played and started the team’s first 15 games before sitting out the final two weeks.

The emerging defender finished seventh on the team with 52 tackles, led Houston with 12.5 sacks — ahead of NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. (7.0) and veteran Sheldon Rankins (6.0). Greenard and Anderson tied for the club lead with 22 quarterback hits.

In his first three seasons, the 6-foot-3, 263-pound performer managed only 10.5 QB traps in 33 regular-season outings. However, eight of those came in a dozen games in 2021, so obviously the potential was there.

Of course, Greenard was in the final year of his rookie contract and could draw a lot of attention on the free-agent market if he is allowed to test it. Keeping him and Anderson together would be huge. No doubt the team would like to establish some continuity to a pass rush that totaled a team-record 46 sacks in 2023.