Two months after saying he "definitely" wants to return to the Houston Texans rather than "start all over again" with a new team, Carlos Hyde might be headed elsewhere, after all. According to the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson, the Texans met with Hyde's representatives in late February at the NFL Scouting Combine and later submitted a contract offer to the running back, but Hyde is now expected to test 2020 free agency, with Houston potentially set to move on from the veteran altogether.
It's unclear how much the Texans offered Hyde, or for how long. The 29-year-old former second-round draft pick was traded to Houston in a rare player-for-player swap just before the start of the 2019 season and went on to lead the team in rushing, finishing the year with 245 carries for a career-high 1,070 yards and six touchdowns. His one-year, $2.8 million contract, originally signed with the Kansas City Chiefs last March, is set to expire when free agency officially kicks off on March 18.
Hyde hasn't had a steady NFL home since spending the first four years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, for whom he started 36 games in between injuries and rotations with backs like Frank Gore and Matt Breida. He landed a three-year deal with the Cleveland Browns in 2018, only to be dealt to the Jacksonville Jaguars that October in exchange for a fifth-round pick, then totaled just 189 yards in eight games with the Jags before his offseason release. With lots of starting experience and a 2019 campaign that saw him headline Houston's rushing attack, however, he could prove to be a better value than some of this year's top free agent RBs.
The Texans, meanwhile, will assuredly be in the market for another RB if they can't re-sign Hyde. Former starter Lamar Miller, a big free agent addition of the team in 2016, is also on track to hit the open market, as is reserve Taiwan Jones.
