Bill O’Brien: Texans wanted to keep Tyrann Mathieu

[KC Wolf]

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Tyrann Mathieu spent only one season in Houston. He now is in Kansas City, which hosts the Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien made it clear he wanted to keep the safety but couldn’t afford him.

Mathieu signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Chiefs.

“It was hard. He’s a great guy,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said, via Dave Skretta of the Associated Press. “He’s got awesome leadership qualities, you know? Really instinctive, good football player. Cares about his team. Cares about his teammates. But that’s the NFL. The NFL, every team has a salary cap to deal with, every player has the ability once they reach free agency to do what’s best for him and their family. We have a ton of respect for Honey Badger. He did a great job for us last year.”

Mathieu, 27, proved worth every penny his first season in Kansas City. He earned All-Pro honors after 75 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions.

“The Honey Badger came in, and guys like Kendall Fuller who have been here, they kind of pieced it together,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “This happened to me in New York, and I credited the players that were there and the same thing happened here. When you bring in a bunch of free agents and new faces, the players who are already here, it’s as important as what they do as the people who came in. Our guys have done a really good job of embracing the new players that came on board.”