NFL free agency officially opens on Wednesday. The Denver Broncos will have around $31 million to spend to try to improve the team for the 2019 season. Denver needs to look at the defense. There is one player they should be interested in bringing to the Mile-High City, linebacker Justin Houston.
Houston spent the last 8 years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver is familiar with him since they had to face him twice a year. Houston made a name for himself by pressuring the quarterback. Those ended in sacks or quarterback pressures. Houston has 78.5 sacks in his career.
Houston can also stop a running back from gaining yards. He wraps up and rarely misses a tackle. When he has his chance, Houston knocks the ball out of the arms of a running back. He has forced 14 fumbles and recovered 8 of them.
Denver knows in order to become an improved team in 2019, the defense must play better. If they add Houston, it makes the linebacker core better. They already have Von Miller and Bradley Chubb to put pressure on the quarterback. With the addition of Houston opposing quarterbacks will need to know where they are all lined up to avoid being hit or sacked. It might be the best pass rushing core in the league.
The downside with adding Houston is his injury history. He hasn’t appeared in all 16 games since 2014. Houston missed 4 games this past season due to a hamstring injury.
The Broncos should make the call to Houston on Wednesday. It would give the Broncos an idea if he is interested in playing for them. If he is, Elway must sign him to a deal. He could be the answer in making the defense better. The only hold up might be the contract. Houston was paid $14 million last year, too much for Denver to spend since that would be about half of their cap space. Denver will figure out the free agents that fit best on this team to make a run at the playoffs in 2019. 000000000
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