Texans High On Impactful Veterans Addison And Hughes

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio and head coach Lovie Smith have both spoken of the impact defensive ends Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes can have.

One position group that's seen a big turnover this offseason is defensive end where both ends of the age spectrum have been added.

On that upper end, you have guys like Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes, who have 23 years of NFL experience between them - both of whom arrived via free agency from the Buffalo Bills.

And the decision to add experienced veterans like them is critical as far as head coach Lovie Smith is concerned.

"I think it's critical that you have a certain amount of veterans on your football team. And I'm talking about veterans that have done it a certain way, you know been true pros throughout," Smith said. 

Smith explained that he's told the younger players to spend time with the likes of Hughes and Addison to see just how they prepare and what they do during this offseason break.

"The players coming in, you mentioned Jerry Hughes, he got in a little later during the offseason program but jumped right in, and it's amazing how people will gravitate to certain players, so he stepped in that role right away," Smith said. "And we have a lot of that on the offensive side of the football too."

With 342 games and 125 sacks between them, the duo figure to be a wealth of knowledge for Houston's relatively young defensive line.

And one man whos particularly well acquainted with them and the impact they can have on the field is general manager Nick Caserio from his time with the New England Patriots.

"We had to see those guys twice a year, I'd say they were both kinds of pains in the asses on the other side of the ball to block," Caserio said. 

Caserio emphasized that there are reasons why both these players have been in the league and playing at such a high level for as long as they have and that having those sorts of players around is beneficial for their younger teammates.

"In both of those players' case[s] they're not vociferous and loud but they make a huge impact in terms of their actions and then when they back that up, they back their words up with their actions," Caserio said.

The Texans will be hoping that with promising young linemen like Jonathan Greenard, Roy Lopez, and Ross Blacklock to name but a few, the presence of Addison and Hughes can act as a fountain of knowledge to push the youngsters to the next level.