Extending Whitney Mercilus Means the Houston Texans Commit to Mediocrity

There is a rosy scenario for the Houston Texans where re-signing outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus to a four-year, $26 million contract extension—as reported by ESPN's Tania Ganguli—isn't a complete waste of money. Imagine it with me.

Whitney Mercilus has become a good edge run defender, and he turns 25 years old in July. He's averaged six sacks a season. Perhaps we're buying low on a player who hasn't shown his full complement of talents yet.

And, hey, though it took less time for us to develop them than Mercilus, we have (eventually) been right about the talents of first-round picks like tackle Duane Brown and cornerback Kareem Jackson. We've also (eventually) been right about tackle…