Houston Texans RB David Johnson restructures contract
David Johnson joined the Houston Texans in the DeAndre Hopkins trade last March. The trade itself had NFL fans scratching their heads because outside of the 2016 season, Johnson's performances have not been anything to write home about. Since the 2016 NFL season, David Johnson has had just one above-average season.
During the 2016 season, David Johnson touched the ball 373 times for the Cardinals and racked up 2,118 all-purpose yards. The former Cardinals running back recorded 20 total touchdowns during 2016. Johnson played one game during the 2017 season and suffered a wrist injury that kept him out the entire season.
After missing the entire 2017 NFL season, David Johnson put together the second best campaign of his NFL career. During the 2018 season, Johnson touched the football a total of 308 times for 1,386 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns. In David Johnson's first season with the Houston Texans, he recorded 147 rushes for 691 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
The Houston Texans are looking to open up cap space for the 2021 NFL off-season. They have already cut ties with Duke Johnson. On Tuesday, the Texans and David Johnson restructured his one-year contract.
What did David Johnson's old contract look like and how does it look now?
Before restructuring his contract on Tuesday, David Johnson had the opportunity to earn close to $9 million in 2021 with $2.1 million in guaranteed money. The $9 million was for the final year of the 3-year $39 million contract that he signed with the Cardinals in 2018.
The Houston Texans need to be extremely active during free agency because they do not have a pick until the third round. Houston is heading into the 2021 NFL off-season with roughly $31 million in cap space.
The Houston Texans, like every other team, want to have their chances at landing a top wide receiver. For that purpose, they needed to restructure David Johnson's contract. David Johnson and the Houston Texans agreed on a restructured contract worth $6 million with $4.25 million in guaranteed money.
The Texans knew they needed to offer Johnson more guaranteed money to make sure he stayed with the team. If the Houston Texans were to cut David Johnson, they could've saved $6.4 million in cap space. The Texans could've saved that money but at the same time they needed a running back who can bring production.