SATURDAY, 9:40am: Grimes’ one-year deal with the Texans is worth $900K, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
FRIDAY, 10:42am: The Texans are bringing back running back Jonathan Grimes, according to agent Sunny Shah, who tweets that his client has agreed to a one-year contract to return to Houston. The deal will allow Grimes to return to the free agent market a year from now.
Grimes, 26, wasn’t the primary option in Houston in 2015, even with Arian Foster out for the majority of the season, but he did earn a slightly increased role. In 14 games, he set new career highs in rushing attempts (56), rushing yards (282), receptions (26), receiving yards (173), and total touchdowns (two). Despite not receiving a ton of touches, the William & Mary product averaged 5.0 yards per carry and has a fan in head coach Bill O’Brien, as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
Foster is no longer in the picture heading into the 2016 season, but the Texans’ backfield should still be fairly crowded. The team signed Lamar Miller to a four-year deal, and the financial terms on that contract suggest he’ll be in line for a majority of the carries. In addition to Grimes, Alfred Blue – who had 183 carries in 2015 – will also return, and so will young speedster Akeem Hunt.
Having reached an agreement with Grimes, the Texans are also looking ahead to the draft today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, who writes that the team worked out Texas A&M offensive linemen Germain Ifedi and Mike Matthews. Ifedi projects as a possible first-round pick, while Matthews is a potential late-round selection.
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