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The Houston Texans get a starting cornerback before the NFL draft.
They sign Steven Nelson to a $ 10 million two-year deal, as source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Nelson joins cornerbacks Desmond King and Lonnie Johnson on the list. King moved outside last season for the first time in his NFL career. Johnson, a second-round pick in 2019, moved back to the position from safety in 2021.
“Our game at the cornerback position last year was not good enough, so simple it is,” Texans head coach Lovie Smith said Monday. “If we brought someone back, we have faith in them. We think they can fit into the mix somehow, but that’s a position we will continue to seek to improve. We can not play. the kind of football we want to play until we get better at the cornerback position, I would say. “
After signing a $ 3 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, Nelson started against Darius Slay and appeared in 16 games in the regular season. I finished the season with 1 interception, 7 defensive passes and 50 tackles.
By playing mainly in a zone system that gave opponents down, quarterbacks completed 67% of their passes – to a QB rating of 108.4 – when they threw in his direction in 2021, according to the Pro Football Reference.
Nelson, who turned 29 in January, spent the previous two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, recording three interceptions over 30 games.
Originally a third-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015, Nelson has appeared in 98 of 113 possible matches. He has eight career interceptions and 59 passes defended.
ESPN’s Tim McManus and Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.
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