What CB Bradley Roby brings to the Houston Texans

The Denver Broncos are losing former first-round pick Bradley Roby to the Houston Texans. What does he bring to the table for his new team?

The Denver Broncos are losing their second free agent of the 2019 offseason with reports that cornerback Bradley Roby will join the Houston Texans on a one-year, $10 million deal.

Though I predicted at the last minute that Roby could stay in Denver (I thought they would double up with Callahan and one other player), I discussed the possibility of Roby leaving for the Texans a couple of weeks ago.

Sometimes the only factor you need to make a free agency prediction? Geography.

Obviously, the Texans had a need at cornerback and cap space, but Roby — a Texas native — made sense for them simply for the fact that he will be able to go play in front of friends and family he grew up with.

For Texans fans reading this post, it’s safe to say your team is banking on what Roby can be and not what he actually was in 2018, which was dreadful.

Roby has always been a bit of a feast-or-famine type of player at the cornerback position, and the good news for Houston is, he’s made his share of big plays through the years.

Roby was an original member of the No Fly Zone in 2014 when the Broncos signed Aqib Talib and TJ Ward in free agency before taking him with the 31st overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Denver was trying to copy the type of success the Seattle Seahawks had defensively, so they brought in physical cornerbacks who could attack the football.

That’s exactly what Roby did.

In five seasons with the Broncos, Roby had seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and three scores off of turnovers, including a fumble recovery for the ages in an overtime thriller against the Chiefs back in 2015.

Roby now gets a chance to prove he’s a better player than his 2018 season led on with a great defense down in Houston. It’s not that things ended on bad terms for him in Denver, but Roby was most certainly unable to seize the role the team handed him when they traded away Aqib Talib.

He’s got the ability to hit and make plays on the ball, but there were too many lapses in judgment for Roby to get a long-term deal from the Broncos or anyone else.

This is a solid move by the Texans, betting on a talented player at a slightly below-market price.