Texans Claim QB Stephen Morris
Stephen Morris wasn’t out of work for long. After being waived by the Seahawks over the weekend, the Texans claimed the quarterback on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Morris, 26 in August, becomes the fourth quarterback on Houston’s roster. He’ll provide the Texans with the fourth camp arm that they need, but he may also have a real shot at making the final cut as he goes against Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb for a backup spot behind starter Deshaun Watson.
Weeden’s one-year deal has just $230K in guaranteed cash while Webb’s only guarantee is his $90K signing bonus. If Morris outperforms either player, they won’t have second thoughts about keeping him over either veteran.
Morris has been with five different teams – the Jaguars, Eagles, Colts, Redskins, and Seahawks – since entering the league as a UDFA in 2014. He has yet to thrown an NFL pass, but that could change with club No. 6.
Texans Announce Personnel Hires
- The Texans announced that they’ve hired former Jets director of college scouting Matt Bazirgan as their director of player personnel and have hired former New England Patriots national scout James Liipfert as director of college scouting. The team dismissed assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Jimmy Raye earlier this offseason. Former New Orleans Saints scout C.J. Leak has taken over as assistant director of pro scouting and Rob Kisiel will continue in his role as the director of pro scouting.
Texans Hire Former Saints Scout
A week after the Texans made the move to bring Jets executive Matt Bazirgan into the fold as their director of player personnel, the Jets will hire one of the staffers the Texans axed after the draft. Former Houston college scouting director Jon Carr will assume the same position in New York, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Carr spent over a decade with the Texans, rising from the scouting level to his most recent post with the AFC South franchise. Carr has a history with Jets GM Mike Maccagnan, with the two working together with the Texans for several years. Carr ended up replacing Maccagnan as the Texans’ director of college scouting in 2015 when the Jets named Maccagnan their GM.
- The Texans hired Saints scout C.J. Leak to be their assistant director of pro scouting, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Leak spent two years as the Saints’ Combine scout and prior to that spent eight years with the Bills, working in their pro personnel department.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/11/2018
Here are today’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Waived: DL Matthew Godin
New York Giants
- Waived: OT Laurence Gibson
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: P Colby Wadman
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: QB Stephen Morris
Washington Redskins
- Retired: OL Sean Welsh
Texans Place Jeff Allen On PUP List
The Texas put starting right guard Jeff Allen on the reserve physically unable to perform list, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes.
Since signing a four-year deal with Houston in 2016, Allen has been plagued by injuries, including concussions and ankle ailments. With the move, the veteran will no longer count against the team’s 90-man offseason roster limit.
A second-round selection by the Chiefs in 2012, Allen spent four seasons in Kansas City where he primarily played left guard, but also spent time at left tackle and right tackle. He made the move to right guard upon his arrival in 2016 but has missed six games with those injury issues.
He has two years remaining on his deal, with base salaries of $5.75MM (2018) and $6MM (2019.
Texans Add 13 UDFAs
The Texans are the latest team to unveil their post-draft free agent haul. Here’s their 13-man contingent:
- Davin Ballamy, LB (Georgia)
- Andre Chachere, CB (San Jose State)
- Lavon Coleman, RB (Washington)
- Anthony Coyle, G (Fordham)
- Trevor Daniel, P (Tennessee)
- Mason Gentry, DE (SMU)
- Jaryd Jones-Smith, T (Pittsburgh)
- K.J. Malone, G (LSU
- Kingsley Opara, NT (Maryland)
- Vyncint Smith, WR (Limestone)
- Terry Swanson, RB (Toledo)
- Jester Weah, WR (Pittsburgh)
- Jalen Wilkerson, DE (Florida State)
Malone is the son of NBA legend Karl Malone. The 6-foot-4 K.J. Malone played left tackle at LSU but will evidently be tried at guard initially as a pro. The Texans are listing Coyle as a guard as well despite the Fordham-honed prospect playing tackle in college.
Houston re-signed Shane Lechler, so it’s unlikely, barring something extraordinary, Daniel has a path to the 53-man roster. Coleman and Swanson will battle for a role behind Lamar Miller and D’Onta Foreman. The Texans did not draft a running back, but they re-signed Alfred Blue this offseason and have Troymaine Pope and Tyler Ervin on their 90-man roster.
Interestingly, the only Division II player in this group will collect the most bonus money. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link) Smith signed for a $35K — comprised of a $10K signing bonus and a $25K base salary guarantee. Jones-Smith will collect $22K ($10K signing bonus, $12K base guarantee), and Swanson will earn $21K guaranteed ($15K guaranteed base and $6K signing bonus), per Wilson (Twitter links).
Texans Sign Entire Draft Class
As a busy Thursday for rookie signings winds down, the Texans don’t have any more work to do on this front. They reached agreements with each member of their draft class Thursday night, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). Here’s the full rundown:
- 3-68: Justin Reid, S (Stanford)
- 3-80: Martinas Rankin, T (Mississippi State)
- 3-98: Jordan Akins, TE (UCF)
- 4-103: Keke Coutee, WR (Texas Tech)
- 6-177: Duke Ejiofor, DE (Wake Forest)
- 6-211: Jordan Thomas, TE (Mississippi State)
- 6-214: Peter Kalambayi, LB (Stanford)
- 7-222: Jermaine Kelly, CB (San Jose State)
Having traded their first- and second-round picks in the deals for Deshaun Watson and Brock Osweiler, the Texans didn’t have as difficult of a time getting their class signed. However, they agreed to terms with three third-rounders, which hasn’t always been easy for teams because of vague CBA language regarding this round.
But Reid, Rankin and Akins are in the fold, and the Texans joined the Eagles among teams that have their full classes signed. Neither made first-round picks in this draft.
Texans Hire Jets Exec As Player Personnel Director
After firing several members of their scouting department earlier this week, the Texans are quickly assembling their new-look scouting branch.
The franchise will bring aboard Matt Bazirgan from the Jets, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports he will serve as the Texans’ director of player personnel. The Jets granted Bazirgan permission to speak with the Texans.
Bazirgan joins former Patriots exec James Liipfert as new Texans hires, with the latter now in place as Houston’s director of college scouting. The Texans will also bring aboard former Cardinals scout John Ritcher, Wilson reports. Ritcher will become Houston’s southeast regional scout, per Wilson, after spending six years with the Cards.
Bazirgan, who looks set to assume some of former interim GM and VP of player personnel Jimmy Raye III‘s responsibilities, served as the Jets’ director of pro personnel for the past three years. Wilson adds Bazirgan has a strong reputation as a talent evaluator in NFL circles. He spent 14 years with the Jets.
Texans Hire Longtime Patriots Exec
- The Texans are moving second-year cornerback Treston Decoud to safety, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. A 2017 fifth-round pick, Decoud played in 10 games for the Texans as a rookie. Decoud played cornerback in both of his seasons at Oregon State. He’s the younger brother of former longtime Falcons safety Thomas Decoud. Houston signed Tyrann Mathieu in free agency and drafted Justin Reid with its first 2018 pick, a third-rounder, so Treston Decoud could stay a depth piece at his new position.
- Houston’s revamp of its scouting department will see the franchise hire nine-year Patriots staffer James Liipfert as the new director of college scouting, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Liipfert will succeed Jon Carr in this role. Having been with the Patriots during each year Bill O’Brien was, Liipfert served the past three seasons with the Patriots as a national scout after previously being an area scout.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/1/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: RB John Crockett
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed: LB Jermaine Grace (from Colts)
New York Jets
- Claimed: DB C.J. Goodwin (from Cardinals)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Claimed: OT Jake Rodgers (from Texans)