Houston Texans restructured David Johnson’s contract, which will now be worth up to $ 6 million in 2021, including $ 4.25 million fully guaranteed upon signing, a source told ESPN.
Johnson could have been a victim with a salary cap if he hadn’t restructured his contract.
Johnson is expected to owe nearly $ 9 million in 2021, of which only $ 2.1 million is guaranteed, before the restructured deal is agreed.
Houston traded Johnson in March 2020 in a deal that sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.
Johnson ran 691 yards and six touchdowns last season with 147 runs. He played in only 12 games, missing three with a concussion and one while on the reserve list / COVID-19.
When the Texans switched to Johnson a year ago, the deal was made by former general manager and head coach Bill O’Brien, who was fired in October. At the time, Johnson was coming out of the lowest production of his career and was given the keys to the Houston bottom field.
Johnson’s best season came in 2016, for the Cardinals, when he was selected for his only Pro Bowl and was a first-team All Pro after achieving the best hits of the race in running yards (1,239) , quick touchdowns (16), receptions (80), receiving yards (879) and scrimmage yards (2,118, leading the NFL).
Last week, the Texans threw at Duke Johnson, the runner who caught the footsteps.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jeremy Fowler, and Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.