Nobody breaks Vince Wilfork news quite like Vince Wilfork. The free agent defensive lineman took to Twitter on Monday to announce that he'll be signing with the Houston Texans.
It's not the first time Wilfork has broken Wilfork news, Wilfork also broke the news that he was becoming a free agent when he tweeted on March 5 that New England wouldn't be picking up his two-year option.
The 33-year-old, who had spent his entire 11-year career with the Patriots before signing with the Texans, described free agency as an "interesting process."
"This has been a interesting process for me and my family one we have taken very seriously and given a lot of thought we want to thank the Kraft family and the entire Patriot organization for the last 11 years however we will be starting a new chapter in our lives as Houston Texans,” Wilfork wrote on Twitter. "The coaching staff in Houston has made this new exciting transition feel like home to us. We will forever be Patriots in our hearts thank you everyone for everything."
The worst part about this signing is that it probably means Wilfork won't be allowed to sit on Tom Brady anymore.
So why did Wifork choose the Texans? Let's answer that question first in our three things to know.
1. Wilfork is familiar with the Texans coaching staff. Although there were believed to be at least three other teams chasing Wilfork, it's easy to see why he went to Houston: The Texans are basically New England west. Wilfork's defensive coordinator in Houston will be Romeo Crennel, who served as Wilfork's defensive coordinator in New England during Wilfork's rookie year in 2004.
Wilfork is also familiar with Texans head coach Bill O'Brien, who served on the Patriots coaching staff from 2007-11 while Wilfork was in New England. Wilfork's ties to the Texans coaching staff don't end there either.
Mike Vrabel, who was a teammate of Wilfork's from 2004-08, is going into his second season as Houston's linebackers coach.
It's also probably worth mentioning that Vrabel, Wilfork, Crennel and O'Brien will be having a reunion of sorts next season, as the Texans are scheduled to host the Patriots in 2015.
2. The money. If the Patriots had picked up Wilfork's option he would have made at least $7 million in 2015 and could have made up to $8.5 million if he met every incentive. Obviously, Wilfork won't be getting that, but he will be getting $5 million in guaranteed money from the Texans. According to the Houston Chronicle, Wilfork agreed to a two-year, $9 million deal that includes the aforementioned $5 million in guaranteed money.
3. Wilfork will likely be starting in 2015. As of right now, the starting nose tackle in Houston next season is either going to be Wilfork or second-year player Louis Nix. Nix, who was a 2014 third-round pick by the Texans, spent his entire rookie year on injured reserve. Nix underwent arthroscopic knee surgery during training camp in 2014, but never returned from that because he eventually injured his wrist. The Texans had hoped Nix would be able to play in 2014, but eventually decided that probably wasn't going to happen and put him on IR after Week 3.
The likely scenario in Houston is that Wilfork, a five-time Pro Bowler, will be starting and Nix will sit behind the veteran and attempt to learn everything Wilfork knows.
By the way, if Wilfork starts in Houston, that means the Texans would be trotting out Jadeveon Clowney, J.J. Watt and Wilfork as their starting defensive lineman -- which takes us to our bonus thing to know....
Bonus thing to know: J.J. Watt's reaction to the signing.
I'm pretty sure he's laughing at the rest of the league.