Houston Texans DE Jason Babin is a former 1st-round draft choice who is scheduled to make nearly $1.3M this season. For the past two seasons he has been a fixture in the Texans 3-4 defense at OLB, a position that takes advantage of his outstanding athleticism and pass rush ability. But new head coach Gary Kubiak is installing a 4-3 scheme that will force Babin to move to DE and play with his hand down. That’s not his strength, and at 6-3, 252, he lacks the size and bulk to play in the trenches in that kind of defense. As a result, he is listed as the 3rd RDE on the team’s depth chart. The Texans don’t figure to pay that kind of money to a player who doesn’t figure to be even a primary backup, and aren’t likely to keep him around if he doesn’t fit what they plan to do on defense.
