One of the Green Bay Packers' most highly-publicized decisions during the 2014 offseason was to move sixth-year defensive lineman B.J. Raji from defensive end back to nose tackle, which was the position he primarily played during his first few years in the NFL and during the Packers' Super Bowl run in 2010. One of the players affected by that decision was veteran tackle Ryan Pickett, who was the team's nose tackle a year ago and had been a key member of the Packers' defensive line for eight seasons.
Pickett, whose contract expired, was not brought back, and the Packers moved on and signed former Vikings tackle Letroy Guion instead. Even when Raji went down for the year with a torn biceps tendon, Pickett did not get a call.
Today, we learned that Pickett, who was in Houston for a tryout with the Texans recently, will be getting another shot to continue his NFL career. The Texans are signing the 34-year-old tackle, according to one of their beat writers:
Louis Nix 3 to be placed on IR. Ryan Pickett signed.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) September 24, 2014
This is good news for Pickett, who is one of the good guys of the NFL. His charity golf tournament was a destination event for many of his Packers teammates in the past. Pickett will likely back up the Texans' Jerrell Powe at the nose tackle position for the Texans in place of the rookie Nix.
Nix, on the other hand, was a frequent projected pick of the Packers in this year's draft, but he slipped to the third round of the draft (largely due to injury concerns). He goes to IR in his first NFL season after not playing in any of Houston's first three games.
Pickett's Packers career can best be described as steady and consistent. He missed only nine games in his eight years in Green Bay and though he never put up gaudy numbers, he was a reliable run stopper who had a knack for eating up blockers. Pickett finished with 3.5 sacks, 18 pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries as a Packer.
We wish the best of luck to a great former Packer as Pickett continues his career in Houston.