Justin Houston Injury History & Analysis

The Panthers have agreed to a one-year deal with Edge Justin Houston. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Houston will get $6 million guaranteed, with a top value of $7 million. Houston rebounded for 9.5 sacks at age 33 with the Ravens last season, tying his second-largest sack total of the past eight years despite a career-low 44.1% snap share. That bodes well for the pressure rate Carolina can expect to get from the veteran. But you should expect Houston to remain in a similar situational role. That obviously limits his statistical upside. Beyond the sacks, Houston tallied a career-low 21 total tackles. That matched the total from his 2016 campaign in Kansas City, which saw Houston play in just five games. Houston tallied 6 more solo tackles (20) that year than he did in 2022. We've added Houston to the IDP rankings, but he's not an exciting option.

The Ravens have signed EDGE Jason Pierre-Paul to a 1-year deal worth up to $5 million, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Baltimore has just 7 sacks through 3 games, despite facing a league-high 141 pass attempts. The only Raven with 2+ sacks so far is EDGE Justin Houston, who left Sunday's win over the Patriots with a groin injury. We'd bet on JPP quickly working into the rotation, though we'll need to see his playing time before considering him for IDP lineups.

Baltimore on Friday placed 4 front-7 players on the COVID list, meaning they'll all miss at least Sunday's game in Detroit. The players are DTs Brandon Williams and Justin Madubuike, and EDGE defenders Justin Houston and Jaylon Ferguson. None makes a huge fantasy difference for either IDP usage or the Baltimore team defense's upside, but their absences certainly soften the matchup for Detroit's offense. Losing Brandon Williams, in particular, weakens the Ravens' run D -- a help for Lions RBs D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.