Who was the worst?

Examining which team signed the worst free agent in Houston sports history

There are four players in particular that two Houston teams regret signing, but who are they?

At the number one spot is Brock Osweiler who was brought here from the Denver Broncos. Osweiler signed a four-year contract for $72 million on March 9th, 2016. Houstonians thought it was an answer from God, but things did not go as planned. Osweiler was not successful for the Houston Texans. He got benched in week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Houston crowd actually cheered when he was benched.

Osweiler eventually regained his starting job because of Tom Savage's concussion in week 17. There were multiple rumors that Osweiler and Bill O'Brien got into a heated discussion in the Titans' locker room. Even though Osweiler won a playoff game, he went 8-6 as a starting quarterback, and had a disappointing 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. After the season, Houston was able to get rid of the contract by trading him to the Cleveland Browns along with Houston's 2nd round pick. The Osweiler chapter was closed.

Coming in second is Ahman Green who the Texans signed from the Green Bay Packers. Green was a four-time Pro Bowler with the Packers, and signed a four-year 23 million dollar deal with the Texans. The hope was that he would bring his skills to Houston and have a great finish to his career. He struggled with the death of his father, a family feud with his daughter, and a knee injury. Green only played six games, ran for 250 yards, and only had two touchdowns. This was not a good signing by the Texans to say the least.

In third place is Ed Reed who signed a three-year 15 million dollar deal with the Texans. At the time Reed had just won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2013, was a nine-time pro-bowler, and was still looked at as one of the best safeties in football. The Texans did not get off to a good start that season. Reed only had 16 tackles in six games and lost his starting job after making his debut against the Ravens week 3. Houston was 2-7 after a 27-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Reed made comments that questioned the coaching on the Texans staff. When those comments were made, the Texans released him.


Texans To Release Ed Reed - SportsCenter (11-12-2013)youtu.be


In fourth place is Scottie Pippen who signed a five-year 67 million dollar deal with the Houston Rockets. Pippen wanted to team up with Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley to win a championship. He mentioned on ESPN's The Jump that the Rockets wanted him to be a three-point shooter while Olajuwon and Barkley posted up. Pippen only played 50 games while averaging 14.5 points per game. The seven-time All-Star and six-time champion did not plan out in Houston. Barkley was upset and wanted an apology from Pippen after asking for a trade to leave Houston. Pippen felt like Barkley did not work hard enough to win a championship, and many Houston fans believed that Pippen quit on the Rockets.


Pippen vs Barkley's "sorry fat butt"youtu.be


There you have it.

There are plenty of other bad contracts that did not get discussed, so feel free to mention them on Twitter and Facebook.

Hopefully, Houston teams have learned from their mistakes.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Chiefs host the Texans this Saturday. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Texans were trailing 6-0 and facing third-and-16 from their 17 late in the first half of their wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers when quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled the snap.

The play looked to be heading for disaster. But instead, Stroud grabbed the ball and evaded the rush to find Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain.

The Texans went on to score a touchdown on that drive as the first of 23 straight points as they rallied for a 32-12 win.

They’ve advanced to the divisional round for a second straight season where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.

Coach DeMeco Ryans called Stroud salvaging that play the play of the game and raved about his second-year quarterback.

“That’s what it looks like when your best players step up and make the plays,” Ryans said. “That’s what playoff football is about. That’s what being a big-time player in the league is about.”

Even after he made the play, Stroud was unhappy because he fumbled the snap. But he felt much better when he looked to his sideline after the throw.

“And everybody was turned up, and that turned me up, because I was still kind of mad at myself,” he said. “Those are the type of plays that change momentum, and a team can rally around plays like that.”

Stroud threw for 282 yards with a touchdown pass to Nico Collins and an interception. He joined Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy as quarterbacks to win playoff starts in each of their first two seasons.

Stroud also ran for 42 yards, highlighted by a career-long 27-yard run to help set up a field goal that put the Texans up 10-6 at halftime.

Stroud, who is not known for his scrambling ability joked about his “slow speed.”

He said the long run energized him.

“I felt my joy coming back after I got up, and it’s just one the best feelings in the world,” he said. “After you make a play, you’re just turned up and your teammates are turned up with you. That’s one of the best feelings in the world. I think that gave our team juice. I think me using my legs is definitely going to be helpful this postseason.”

Ryans was thrilled to see Stroud doing whatever he had to do to lift his team to the victory.

“That’s what you call (putting) the team on your back,” he said.

What’s working

The Texans intercepted Justin Herbert a career-high four times after he had thrown just three interceptions all season. All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley had two picks and Eric Murray returned one 38 yards for a touchdown. Rookie Kamari Lassiter had the other interception to join J.J. Watt as the only rookies in franchise history to have an interception in a playoff game.

Houston’s four interceptions are a franchise record for a playoff game and Murray’s interception return for a score was the fourth in the postseason in team history.

What needs help

For the Texans to have a chance against the Chiefs, they’ll have to take better care of the ball after committing three turnovers Saturday.

John Metchie fumbled after a catch on Houston’s first offensive play. Stroud threw an interception in the second quarter and Joe Mixon lost a fumble early in the third quarter.

Stock up

CB D’Angelo Ross was a special teams star Saturday. He blocked a punt in the first quarter before returning a blocked extra point for two points in the fourth.

The blocked punt was the first in a playoff game since the 2021 season and the PAT return was the first in NFL playoff history.

Stock down

LG Tytus Howard gave up a sack and had two penalties Saturday.

Injuries

The Texans didn’t have any injuries in Saturday’s game.

Key number

168 — Houston’s 168 yards rushing Saturday were the second most in a playoff game in franchise history behind the 188 the team gained in its first-ever postseason game in 2012. Mixon led the way with 106 yards for his eighth 100-yard game this season.

Up next

The Texans play in the divisional round for the sixth time in franchise history where a win will earn them their first trip to the AFC championship game.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome