The Houston Texans won't be signing Timmy Jernigan after all. Jernigan, who agreed to a one-year, $3.75 million deal with the Texans earlier this offseason, won't be joining the team due to a history of health issues and their sudden depth at the position (per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
Jernigan was slated to receive $1.25 million guaranteed with Houston, as he would have played either the inside or outside in the Texans' 3-4 scheme. Jernigan had three years of experience playing defensive tackle in Philadelphia in a 4-3 scheme, but played on the edge in a 3-4 with the Baltimore Ravens.
Jernigan never took a physical with the Texans and isn't expected to since both sides agreed to part ways. He confirmed he wasn't heading to Houston on his Instagram story, leaving his immediate future in the NFL uncertain.
Injuries have hurt a promising start to Jernigan's career, including the team reworking a four-year, $48 million extension he initially signed in November of 2017. Jernigan started 15 games with the Philadelphia Eagles in that first season with the team after being acquired from the Baltimore Ravens, finishing with 29 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Jernigan also had 23 pressures on the season, but his production dipped in the second half of the year. That version of Jernigan was instrumental toward the Eagles having the No. 1 run defense in 2017, on their way toward winning the Super Bowl.
With Jernigan limited in 2018 thanks to a mysterious back injury, the Eagles run defense took a hit until his return. Jernigan played just 45 snaps on the season in a limited role, but had two pressures and two sacks in the 2018 playoffs. A broken foot caused Jernigan to miss six games last season, one which he had just 10 tackles and two sacks as a rotational tackle the majority of the year.
Where Jernigan ends up next is anyone's guess, but he'll have to prove he's healthy before he can contribute on an NFL roster again.
