Saturday 17 March 2018 07:51, UK
The Houston Texans have signed defensive back Tyrann Mathieu to a one-year deal, the team announced on Friday, two days after the Arizona Cardinals released the former All-Pro.
According to an ESPN report, the one-year contract will pay Mathieu $7m. Sports Illustrated reported Arizona had offered Mathieu a pay cut to a salary of $8m before releasing him, which he declined.
Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt was the first to hint at the signing on Twitter, sending out a tweet with nothing but three honey emojis shortly before the news broke.
Mathieu earned the "Honey Badger" title while starring in college at LSU, where he finished fifth in voting for the 2011 Heisman Trophy.
The 25-year-old started all 16 games for the Cardinals in 2017, tallying seven passes defenced and 78 tackles.
However, he has struggled to return to his All-Pro level of play from 2015 - when he racked up five interceptions, 17 passes defenced and 89 tackles in 14 games - since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in December of that year.
He also tore the ACL in his left knee as a rookie in 2013.
The Cardinals released Mathieu in order to trim his $14.1m cap hit for 2018, after he declined to take a pay cut.
The team saved nearly $5m but incurred a dead-money charge of more than $9 million by cutting him loose.
Mathieu told Sports Illustrated earlier this week "it's not all about money for me" in regard to the search for his next team.
"I want to go somewhere where I can be completely immersed in football, and it's not too much about anything but winning," he said.
"I want to be a part of winning culture, where you feel that all the time. That's all I want."
