In his tenth year, defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. has moved around, a lot. In his new home, he’s quickly thriving.
Edwards, originally a second-round pick of the Raiders in 2015, signed in March with the Texans. On Friday night in Pittsburgh, the first-stringer had 0.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and a quarterback hit.
“Mario has been disruptive all camp,” coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters after the game. “And I wouldn’t have expected anything different from him. He showed up today playing on their side of the line of scrimmage and being disruptive. That’s what we need from all of our guys up front. I’m very pleased what Mario did tonight.”
After three years with the Raiders, Edwards spent one with the Giants, one with the Saints, two with the Bears, one with the Jaguars, and one with the Seahawks.
And so, while the Texans have acquired bigger names (Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon, Danielle Hunter) in their effort to improve on last year’s final-eight finish, Edwards could help make a big major difference for Houston’s defense.
If he does, it’ll be a great return on the Texans’ one-year, $1.65 million investment.