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It's been awfully quiet at Reliant NRG Park since last week's Matt Schaub trade. This morning represents a bit o' news on the Texans' free agency front. Via Twitter:
Free agent safety Chris Clemons is visiting Texans today. He played at Miami.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 28, 2014
Chris Clemons, 28, played five years for Dolphins. He's 6-1, 214. Texans signed FS Kendrick Lewis last week.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 28, 2014
Our friends at The Phinsider described Clemons on the eve of free agency as follows:
Clemons is an interesting case to watch this year. The Dolphins looked like they wanted to move on from him last offseason, but when they did not have a starting safety to play next to Reshad Jones, and Clemons did not find the market he seemed to think would be out there for him, the two sides agreed to a one-year deal. In training camp, Clemons was clearly the leader of the secondary, and most of the defense, calling out signals, and making sure everyone was in the correct positions. As Dannell Ellerbe becomes more comfortable in the defense and establishes himself as the signal caller, Clemons' use in that role should diminish, but he is still the solid, last-line of defense type of player you want in the secondary. It may simply come down to another year of seeing what is available for the Dolphins and if there is interest in Clemons before the two sides decide what they want to do this year.
Clemons has also garnered interest from the Steelers and Lions (Pride of Detroit has a comprehensive and excellent write-up on Clemons here). For what it's worth, Rotoworld says Clemons is their "top remaining free agent safety." While Clemons may not be Ed Reed circa 2008, his acquisition would be a boon to a safety corps that currently features Danieal Manning and a handful of guys I can't imagine Romeo Crennel would be excited to start.
Speaking of D. Manning, Tania Ganguli also reports that he and the Texans are working on a restructured deal (read: pay cut):
Have to apologize for a mistake. Manning has not yet agreed to the pay cut, but the #Texans are working on it. Misunderstood my source.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 28, 2014
Whether Clemons' visit and Manning's willingness to restructure are linked is not known.