Introduction
Frederick Lamarr Houston (born June 24, 1987) is a former American football outside linebacker. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas.
Early years
Houston attended Thomas B. Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. He played linebacker and running back. He finished his high school career with 3,325 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns as a running back and 239 tackles and 13 sacks as a linebacker.
In track and field, Houston competed in the throwing events. He got top-throws of 14.81 meters in the shot put and 48.31 meters in the discus throw.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Houston was rated as the sixth best strongside defensive end prospect of his class.
College career
Houston started his college career with the University of Texas as a defensive end but switched to defensive tackle as a junior. During his career, he started 33 of 50 games, recording 133 tackles and 14 sacks. He recorded 10 tackles and a sack in the Longhorns loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 ⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
305 lb (138 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.84 s | 1.68 s | 2.80 s | 4.71 s | 7.61 s | 33 ⁄2 in (0.85 m) |
9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
30 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Oakland Raiders
Houston was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (44th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, and started his rookie year at the left defensive end position.
Chicago Bears
On March 11, 2014, Houston and the Chicago Bears agreed to a five-year contract. The deal is worth $35 million, with $15 million guaranteed. On October 26, Houston tore his ACL while celebrating a sack of New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, while the Bears were losing by 25 points. The incident was similar to linebacker Stephen Tulloch's, who also tore his ACL, while celebrating a sack earlier in the season.
In 2015, Houston moved to the linebacker position under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's 3–4 defense. As a linebacker, he recorded a career and team high eight sacks. He did not play much during the early portion of the season until Jared Allen was traded; he played only four snaps against the Minnesota Vikings, but recorded 28 tackles, five sacks and six TFLs in from week nine to fourteen. In the final nine games, he had seven sacks, the sixth-most in that stretch.
In 2016, in the second game of the season, Houston tore the ACL in his left knee during Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was placed on injured reserve on September 22, 2016.
On September 2, 2017, Houston was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He was then released on September 6. Houston concluded his three-year tenure with the Bears with 70 tackles and nine sacks over 26 games.
Houston Texans
On October 11, 2017, Houston signed with the Houston Texans. During Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts, Houston recovered a fumble, and ran in into the end zone for his first career touchdown in the 20-14 loss. On November 28, 2017, Houston was waived by the Texans.
Chicago Bears (second stint)
On November 29, 2017, Houston was claimed off waivers by the Bears. He appeared in five games and recorded four sacks during his second stint with the Bears.
Las Vegas Raiders
Houston signed a one-day contract to retire with the Raiders on February 12, 2020.
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | COMB | TOT | AST | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | OAK | 16 | 15 | 39 | 30 | 9 | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | OAK | 16 | 13 | 51 | 36 | 15 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 69 | 49 | 20 | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2013 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 69 | 56 | 13 | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | CHI | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | CHI | 16 | 2 | 42 | 36 | 6 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | CHI | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | HOU | 5 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CHI | 5 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 100 | 71 | 302 | 231 | 71 | 30.0 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 7 | |