Texans Had Eyes on Lions LB Before Re-Signing

The Houston Texans appeared to have some interest in one particular free agent linebacker before he returned to the Detroit Lions.

According to KPRC2's Aaron Wilson, the Texans were "in" as a potential suitor for linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez before he signed a new one-year deal with Detroit, thus extending his stay from where he's been for the past four seasons.

"They were in on Malcolm Rodriguez from the Detroit Lions. Malcolm Rodriguez was on their list too. But he opted to stay with the Lions on a one-year deal," Wilson said.

It's one of the few reported free agent signings that the Texans were interested in pursuing, but didn't end up landing, as Rodriguez would instead opt to sign back with the team that drafted him.

Rodriguez is a former sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft with 50 games of experience in the league, and has started 25 total games since joining the Lions four years ago.

Last season, Rodriguez had played seven games for the Lions, primarily as a special teams contributor as opposed to being a starter on the defensive end, playing in 81% of special teams snaps for the games he was active in.

Therefore, that tells you the Texans were looking at Rodriguez as someone who could fill into a similar role; a special teams guy who can be a depth linebacker, if necessary, but not a regular starting piece of their elite-level defense.

Texans Turned to Jake Hummel Instead

Rather than ending up with Rodriguez, the Texans would decide to pivot into another direction to address that need, which would inevitably be former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jake Hummel; someone who was active all 17 games of the 2025 season, but filled in mostly as a productive player on special teams.

Hummel, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker has 58 games of experience across the past four years with the Ravens and the Los Angeles Rams.

Nov 26, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jake Hummel (35) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Last season turned out to be his most productive season since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa, logging a career-high 18 combined tackles, and the second time in his career where he's had over 400 snaps on both defense and special teams.

According to Aaron Wilson, the Texans' deal for Hummel is at just over $5 million for the next two seasons, including a nearly $1 million signing bonus.

Two-year deal for new #Texans linebacker Jake Hummel: $5.25 million max value
$900K signing bonus, $100K workout bonus
$1.25M salary (guaranteed)
$250K in per game active roster bonuses
$250K Pro Bowl incentive
2027
$100K workout bonus
$1.9M salary
$250k per game active roster… https://t.co/uLbPorn70q
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 10, 2026

Hummel might also end up filling the Texans' newest void on their 53-man roster in the linebacker room with the departure of four-year linebacker Christian Harris, who's reportedly signed to the Atlanta Falcons. Harris played a career-high 173 snaps on special teams in 2025.

In the end, the Texans would fill that need of their linebacker/special teams contributor without the acquisition of Rodriguez, and now add Hummel to their long list of offseason moves to get all three phases locked and loaded for an improved 2026 campaign.

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