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Cornerback Chris Houston turned around his career after he was traded to the Detroit Lions from the Atlanta Falcons in 2010. Houston decided to stay with the Lions by re-signing in 2011, but the deal was only for two years. This made him a free agent again this year, and considering he was coming off of an outstanding season, it wasn't completely clear if the Lions were going to be able to retain him. In the end, Houston did decide to stay with the Lions, agreeing to a five-year deal with the team on Wednesday.
Why did Houston opt to stay in Detroit? He gave a pretty good quote to MLive's Anwar Richardson shortly after news of his deal broke:
#Lions CB Chris Houston said, "I re-signed because of the coaches, the team, the defense and the contract was pretty cool."
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) March 13, 2013
Houston, who is planning to fly in and officially sign his new deal in the next 24 or so hours, told the Free Press' Dave Birkett that he is glad to have a home and a place where he can finish his career. For him, it ultimately came down to what team was the best fit, and that's why he decided to stay in Detroit. From MLive:
"Of course, I wanted to see what was out there, but with the market being flooded with corners, there wasn't too much positive out there," Houston told MLive.com. "The best thing for me was to stick with the Detroit. I would have hated to end up somewhere where I wasn't comfortable, and it wasn't right. I felt this was the best fit."
Houston went on to say that he thinks the Lions are "heading in the right direction," which is another reason why he decided to re-sign with them.
More:
• Follow all of the Lions' free agency news
• 2013 Detroit Lions free agency tracker