Houston Texans Add $6.5 Million Free Agent Defender

The Houston Texans have add yet another defensive piece in NFL free agency.

Nov 27, 2022; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Nick Niemann (31) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Houston Texans have made a cluster of little moves over the first couple of days of NFL free agency, and they completed yet another late Tuesday afternoon.

The Texans have added another player to their defense, agreeing to sign former Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Nick Niemann to a one-year, $6.5 million contract, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Actually, Niemann is more of a special teams ace, having played in 80 percent of the Chargers' special teams snaps this past season. On the 2024 campaign overall, Niemann registered 21 tackles in 13 games.

The 27-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Iowa, was selected by Los Angeles in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Niemann played in all 17 games in each of the first three seasons of his NFL career, making three starts during that span. All of those starts came in 2023.

During that time, the Sycamore, Il. native topped out at 40 tackles during the 2023 campaign. He has accumulated 86 stops over the course of his four-year professional tenure.

The Texans entered the offseason with very limited financial flexibility and had to trade offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil just to open up some wiggle room under the salary cap.

Houston hasn't made any truly major additions outside of swinging a trade for wide receiver Christian Kirk, but it has done a decent job of plugging some holes with the money that is has available.

The Texans will definitely need to strike big in the NFL Draft next month.

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