Texans Re-Sign Veteran Edge Rusher Jerry Hughes
The Texans re-signed veteran edge rusher Jerry Hughes, who turns 36 this year. It got Seth Payne and Shaun Bijani to thinking about J.J. Watt and his possible return.
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00:00I'd seen I would imagine it's a pretty minimum type of a deal for Jerry Hughes who continues to
00:08Man string this career out and it's been a hell of a career for him
00:11I think this has got to be year 15 or 16, maybe 17 for Jerry Hughes who's going to be 36
00:17In no, it couldn't be that long. It's got to be uh, 13 or 14 right for Jerry Hughes came into the league
00:232010 was his first year in the league
00:252010 yes about year 13 for Jerry Hughes. He'll be 36 in August
00:31he joins a
00:33Fairly lengthy list now of Texans on the other side
00:37I won't say the wrong side, but they're just on the other side my side your side of 30. Yeah
00:44But by athlete standards
00:45Yeah
00:45kind of geriatric like the Texans last year for being such a young team were like one of the
00:50they had one of the highest average ages on the roster because
00:54Casario very much likes having guys and I and D'Amico too, but this goes back to Casario when he first came in
01:01I think he really likes having older guys that can teach the younger guys how to be a pro and
01:07And that's big
01:08there's a lot of guys that come out of college and they're just they're they're jackass kids and even the guys that have good attitudes and
01:14Are the right kind of guys?
01:16There's just there's a lot to learn so much the same way the Astros back in you know
01:222015 through 17, especially in 2017
01:25We're bringing in guys like Brian McCann or Carlos Beltran that you know
01:29The Jerry is like a Brian McCann type of guy to have on the team. We're not a not an all-star
01:35You know past his prime all of that, but it can be a really really good resource for those younger guys
01:42And especially when it comes to the culture side of things just doing things the right way
01:46Treating your teammates rate all that. It's good to have some old heads on the roster
01:50So they have John Weeks is 38 case Keenum is 36 Jerry Hughes is 36
01:56JJ Watt is 35 and Daniko Autry is 34. Those are your oldest guys on the roster. Hold on. Hold on
02:02You said JJ. Why yeah, you go ahead and include JJ Watt on this whole thing
02:06I mean, I put him in brackets on my list here because he put out a picture on Instagram yesterday that looks
02:13He's either making a comeback or he's starting a line of nutritional supplements
02:17Because he's
02:19Shredded like he looks like JJ has always been big and muscular, you know
02:23But he always had a almost like a little bit of body fat
02:25Yeah, like he just he wasn't like like Aaron Donald is kind of
02:30Freakishly shredded for a bigger 290 pound guy. JJ looks a lot more like Aaron Donald now. He is ripped
02:38Yeah, yeah
02:40It's so I like I don't know man. This could be him
02:43Just this is his life in retirement and he's just you know, living like he's a men's health model or something or I don't know
02:50maybe he's just
02:51Doing that thing that we talked about earlier that if you're an edge rusher
02:55They can come in and get 20 to 30 snaps per game
02:59That that's not a bad way to live your your waning years in the NFL
03:03I it was kind of a shock when I looked at him
03:05I don't know what his birthday is, but this is 35 year old season
03:07So he would be 35 by the end of this season
03:09I was that was a shock to me because I don't I still don't think of him as being that old
03:14Despite him being around for so long
03:17He doesn't look his age. And so
03:20You know for him being a 35 year old guy
03:23The fact that he's been away from the game now for a couple of years is fresh as fresh as possibly can be
03:31despite all of the
03:32injuries that he sustained whether it be torn pecs and shoulder and a knee and
03:38The back and obviously he had the heart murmur the last season that he played in Arizona all that stuff like I
03:44I will die on this hill because he is giving me no other option
03:49Because he's had an opportunity to crush the rumor
03:53Nick Casario's had an opportunity to crush the rumor D'Amico's had an opportunity to crush the rumor and they've all fed the beast
04:00They've all fanned the flames
04:02D'Amico D'Amico more than anybody and D'Amico's like the D'Amico's the least
04:08kind of
04:10He doesn't usually say things that actually, you know move the meter in terms of controversy or excitement or anything like that
04:16He's always just even Steven keeping an even keel all of that
04:20Yeah for D'Amico to just flat-out say that he just flat-out said yeah, he wanted JJ
04:26He needs JJ, but we couldn't tell for sure if he was joking or not
04:29Oh, let's see because he says it laughing every time he addresses this even Casario. They're always kind of playfully laughing and
04:37Yeah, the last time he spoke on it he was like, yeah, well I need him now, you know and the whole thing and it's like
04:42Well, you know tell him to call me and no you call him if you need him
04:46Call him like right now and he says I need him now. I need to make that phone call that whole thing
04:50It's like okay
04:51I firmly believe that JJ watt is preparing with every intention of playing football this year and
04:59Whether or whether or not Nick Casario in D'Amico Ryan's are taking that seriously or not
05:06They know just like every single one of us if in this part has already been addressed
05:12But if they really need him, they know to pick up the phone and he's gonna be ready
05:18I just don't think it's going to come down to them quote-unquote needing him
05:25I think JJ who is already admitted. He's still training just as if he would if he was preparing to play
05:31So he's staying in some kind of football shape. I think this is going to be designed
05:38for him to return
05:40Towards the last quarter of the season if the Texans are in it to win it. I think that's JJ's plan
05:48I think that's the Texans de facto plan. I think they would love to have him in house
05:54For a stretch run to and then through the postseason and if they don't yeah
06:01Then I think both sides are silly. I just think that's the way that it's being planned
06:06I think that's what should happen if we ultimately believe what we think we
06:13Believe this Texans team is capable of doing and accomplishing this year. It's gonna be with JJ watt in the fold
06:20It's a the the fact that he had said that this will be the last year he trains like the
06:26Like you'd be ready to play. That was the biggest
06:29Indicator that oh, okay. It's it's definitely an option in somebody's mind. Yeah, and
06:34If it if it got that strong if midway through the season because I think along with that, you know, we were talking about how
06:42Like a guy like Jerry Hughes coming in and playing 20 to 30 snaps a game is that that's the dream
06:47Semi-retirement for an NFL defensive lineman
06:49the dream dream is to do like and Dominic and sue did a couple years ago with the Eagles where you come in midway through
06:55the season and
06:57Is because then you're you're not getting all that wear and tear of training camp in the first few days of the first few weeks
07:03Of the season. Yeah, I I've tried to I don't look cuz I don't want to just be
07:09You know
07:11Sensationalistically talking it up or anything
07:13Then making it artificial
07:15But there are a lot of tea leaves that make it seem like that's the obvious thing that he'd be doing
07:20the one thing that the one thing that I wonder about
07:22And I never like I've never asked JJ directly about it because I don't want him to be in a position where he has to just
07:28Say the same old thing to everybody about it
07:30Yeah
07:30I think he's been pretty honest about just kind of not being a hundred percent decided about it
07:35the one thing that makes me skeptical of it at least a little bit is
07:39That we've actually like he's actually talked about
07:43Doing a lot of extra zone to cardio, which is the very low intensity
07:49Conversational pace stuff. It's it's awesome for longevity
07:52There's a lot of benefits to it
07:54But it's not typically something that defensive linemen do because you train more like a sprinter you train for short bursts of anaerobic activity
08:02So like going the training more like a triathlete tends to be in conflict with training like a defensive lineman
08:08But there's obviously uh, there's a there's a there's a balance there. You can balance things out. I was gonna say there's
08:16Yeah, go ahead go ahead
08:18I was just gonna say there's a balance but it might also be kind of a ramp-up process because again
08:24He is right five and he has gone through a body
08:29Transformation even from when he was playing to him not playing. We've never seen him really look like this and
08:37Those old joints when you're putting so much pressure and it's very quick bursts of energy
08:43There might be sort of a sustainability, you know factor there to where that's maybe a phase two or a phase three
08:50Before he really ramps up to like say hey, I'm ready to go
08:55Yeah, well and also too I think because JJ is very methodical about all this stuff in this training
09:01Obviously and very meticulous about things you recognize. Yeah at the age of 35
09:06you can't train the same way you used to and you got to be a lot smarter about how much heavyweight you're lifting and
09:12everything like that and
09:14And also a lot of guys guys who have aged
09:17Successfully and like played on into their late 30s
09:20Tend to say that, you know
09:22You should lose a couple pounds every year you're in the league after that just to take that pressure off your knees
09:27And he's still I don't I doubt he's much more than five to ten pounds lower than
09:33What he played at at Arizona in his in his final year
09:37I think that
09:38That goes in with just being a purely edge player like a guy that is never down playing a 4i
09:44Technique head up over an offensive tackle just coming in on second and long and third and long where it's purely gonna be pass rush
09:51That that that lines up with everything that you just said that at the very at the very very very least
09:57he's keeping the option open and
10:00And and this is a defensive line that we've seen just like with the addition of Jerry Hughes
10:05D'Amico likes rotating his defensive lineman in to keep him fresh and
10:09He's got no objection to having as many good defensive lineman as he can on the roster if it weren't JJ
10:15What I mean, they're bringing it they signed they just signed Jerry Hughes
10:19So it's JJ's a different caliber
10:21Jerry Hughes is 36 years old the big difference between those two guys is that Jerry Hughes has been incredibly durable and I guess that's just
10:28The big question is if I'm D'Amico, I might look at it as yes
10:33I'd love to have JJ Watt, but I also
10:36Want to be sure that I have a healthy JJ Watt and whereas JJ whereas Jerry Hughes has been very very durable
10:41I I don't mind Jerry Hughes coming in and having a modified training camp and everything else like that
10:47Where I might if I'm D'Amico, I might really prefer that JJ not come in until late October
10:53And give him a 10-game season a nice ramp up during the bye week or something
10:58Although the bye weeks later this year for the Texans. So yeah, I it's I wouldn't predict that it's gonna happen
11:05But it's way more viable than maybe I allowed myself to think when I just didn't want to be
11:10I just didn't want to be getting it doing it for clicks. You know, I didn't just want to know
11:16Controversy where there was none
11:17Well, but you're kind of like me and a lot of a lot of us you want to be right?
11:22You want to be responsible in in how you've kind of attacked this but I've just said all along
11:29Since it's become a thing
11:32if if JJ if Nick Casario of D'Amico Ryan's if they've
11:37fanned the flames
11:39Then I'm gonna burn because as long as long as they're not
11:44Dispelling this then it's not silly because the Texans
11:47Yeah over the course of this rebuild if they've done anything
11:52It's they've kicked silly in the ass. They've gotten it out. They've not acknowledged it
11:58It's football. It's our team
12:00It's how we build it and we want to win games and that's how they've approached it
12:05And if JJ watt is going to be a part of that and they're not going to kick that out of bed
12:11Then I'm all in and it's just it would be the smart thing to do because how many teams have a JJ watt at their
12:18disposal on the ready in shape and fresh and
12:22it's
12:24The best option out of anybody other 31 NFL teams in the entire league
12:30Nobody has the option to go and pluck a JJ watt off of a tree like the Houston Texans
12:36I wonder okay. So what would the if I'm looking at late October?
12:42The the most notable home game in late October early
12:46November is the Colts versus the Texans on October 27th
12:51That that would be a pretty cool comeback if if he showed up to play at home versus the Colts
12:58The one thing I wonder though to the week before that is the Texans at the Packers on October 20th. Yeah that
13:05The
13:07JJ like if he's just
13:09Not that not that this should be the whole thing that guides the decision or anything like that
13:13I would imagine he might be looking at the schedule and thinking like man
13:16It'd be pretty be pretty cool to go back in my home state and I was a Packers fan growing up
13:21University of Wisconsin people all there and everything to
13:25stage a comeback