4 players that could follow DeMeco Ryans to the Houston Texans

2. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers (2023 free agent)

I don’t know that the Houston Texans will be at the top of Jimmy Garoppolo‘s 2023 NFL Free Agency wish list, but there are some reasons to think that maybe they could be. There will be an obvious connection to DeMeco Ryans — clearly, that is the focus of this article — but beyond that, we could see a number of other 49ers assistants coming to Houston along with Ryans on the offensive side of the ball.

One of the rumored candidates to be joining Ryans in Houston is 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik, and if that ends up being the case, you probably couldn’t pick a better “bridge” quarterback for the Houston Texans than Jimmy Garoppolo.

The Texans have invested heavily on the offensive line. They have a stud running back in Dameon Pierce. They have some decent young weapons on the outside and they’ll get better in that area quickly. Garoppolo has a pretty nice gig out there in San Francisco but what are they going to do at QB in 2023? Will they keep him? Try Trey Lance again?

With no state income tax in Texas, there’s another advantage here for Houston. Garoppolo would be able to come in on a nice salary (with no state income tax), work with people he already knows well from San Francisco, and perhaps help dig the Texans out of a hole just like Matt Schaub once did with Gary Kubiak in the head coaches chair.

Garoppolo also has another significant connection in Houston that can’t be forgotten. That connection is with GM Nick Caserio. Caserio was the New England Patriots director of player personnel from 2008-2020, so he was obviously around for Garoppolo being drafted (and traded).

The connections are not in short order for Garoppolo with the Texans, and DeMeco Ryans can give the organization a pretty quick proof of concept of his vision for the team with a game manager like Garoppolo under center for a year or two.