Texans Keep Key Cog Kareem Jackson, Nearly Empty Free-Agent Cornerback Pool

Markets are about supply and demand, which explains why the Houston Texans re-signed cornerback Kareem Jackson to a four-year, $34 million contract with $20 million guaranteed just before the start of free agency, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. 

Per numbers from Spotrac, that will at least temporarily make Jackson the second-highest-paid defensive back in football without a single All-Pro nod or Pro Bowl appearance, behind only Brandon Carr of the Dallas Cowboys. 

But the Texans couldn't afford to let him go. They have the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year in defensive end J.J. Watt, yet that defense ranked 16th overall and 21st against the pass last season. By no means was that the main problem in Houston, but a team with limited salary-cap space and plenty of holes on offense can't afford to lose key defensive starters if it's going to capitalize on Watt's prime sooner rather than later. 

Pro Football Focus graded Jackson as the second-best defensive player on the team behind only Watt last year. He's solid in run defense when needed and moves inside to pick up the slot in nickel packages. That versatility comes in handy, and the 26-year-old former first-round pick should only become more of an asset as he enters his prime. 

Player	Grade
1. J.J. Watt	107.5
2. Kareem Jackson	9.5
3. Johnathan Joseph	5.0
4. Danieal Manning	3.0

So overpaying him made a lot of sense, especially with other areas to address in the draft and few other proven cornerbacks slated to become unrestricted free agents when the market opens Tuesday.

That shallow pool features several accomplished players, including former Pro Bowlers Carlos Rogers, Cortland Finnegan, Antonio Cromartie, Rashean Mathis, Charles Tillman and Tramon Williams, but all of those guys are beyond their prime in their early-to-mid-30s.

If you believe in buying low and selling high, which most teams should, you avoid veterans like that. 

If we're talking about established, starting-caliber corners in their 20s, that just leaves Brandon Flowers, Byron Maxwell, Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver, all of whom should expect to land big contracts, considering how many teams need help at a premium position that is gaining importance by the year. 

Flowers, Culliver and Cox were the only impending unrestricted free agents below the age of 30 who started the majority of their respective team's games while earning positive PFF grades in 2014. And the San Diego Chargers appear close to re-signing Flowers, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. The other two men have some major off-the-field baggage. 

Corner	Age	PFF grade
Rashean Mathis	35	9.1
Chris Culliver	27	8.5
Brandon Flowers	29	8.2
Tramon Williams	32	1.6
Perrish Cox	28	1.2
Antonio Cromartie	31	-0.2
Byron Maxwell	27	-0.2
Cary Williams	30	-1.0
Terence Newman	36	-2.0
Cortland Finnegan	31	-4.4
Tarell Brown	30	-4.6
Buster Skrine	26	-6.3
Jimmy Wilson	29	-7.4
Bradley Fletcher	29	-8.4
Antoine Cason	29	-9.7
Shareece Wright	28	-16.8

Maxwell is getting a lot of attention, but you have to wonder if his profile has been boosted by the fact he was a part of a legendary Seattle Seahawks defense. According to Pro Football Focus, he was beaten 10 times by the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots combined in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl and only has one season as a regular starter under his belt. 

Walter Thurmond, who played a similar role with the Seahawks one year prior, could serve as a cautionary tale. Despite some off-the-field problems of his own, Thurmond landed a $2 million deal with the New York Giants as a free agent last offseason but is about to hit the open market again after missing nearly the entire 2014 campaign in New York. 

It isn't pretty, and the draft is a crapshoot that usually lacks immediate results, which is why the Texans were smart to suck it up. They've opened the coffers, but now they can enter the 2015 season without a major new concern at a key spot. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon