In 2020, Bill O’Brien’s plan to turn the Houston Texans into a Super Bowl contender was to turn a top three wide receiver into Brandin Cooks, David Johnson, and an interior pass rusher, and sign Eric Murray to fix the pass defense. Murray signed a three-year $18 million contract at that time worth $10.75 million guaranteed. No one knew who Murray was, no one knew why he received the contract he did. This plan failed. The Texans won four games, and they had one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL once again.
Entering this offseason the Texans could have cut Murray to save $5.