The Houston Texans have signed 40-year old QB Jeff Garcia.  Garcia last played in the NFL back in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Garcia has played in 125 games (116 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,264 of 3,676 passes (61.6%) for 25,537 yards with 161 TD passes and 83 INTs (87.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 468 times for 2,140 yards (4.6 ypc) with 26 TD runs in his NFL career.  Garcia is 58-58 (50%) as a starting QB in the NFL and he has made it to the Pro Bowl four times in his career.  The Texans have released Kellen Clemens to make room on the roster for Garcia.

The Texans have signed 42-year old punter Matt Turk.  Turk played for the Texans from 2007-2010, so he should be very comfortable in returning to the team in a time of need.  He played in 5 games earlier this year and he punted the ball 27 times for 1,072 yards (39.7 avg).  Turk pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 7 times (25.9%) this year and he had 5 touchbacks (18.5%).  Turk has now played in 240 games in his NFL career and he has punted the ball 1,127 times for 47,731 yards (42.4 avg).  He also has 128 touchbacks (11.4%) and he has pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 369 times (32.7%).  The Texans were lucky that Turk wasn’t punting for someone else at this point in the season.

The Houston Texans have signed 36-year old QB Jake Delhomme.  Delhomme played in 5 games for the Cleveland Browns last year and he completed 93 of 149 passes (62.4%) for 872 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (63.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for -2 yards (0.3 ypc) last year.  Delhomme has now played in 102 games in his NFL career so far and he has completed 1,723 of 2,904 (59.3%) for 20,764 yards with 125 TD passes and 101 INTs (81.2 QB Rating).  Delhomme has also carried the ball 175 times for 328 yards (1.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career.  Delhomme is the #3 QB for now, but I could see a scenario of him moving up the depth chart in the very near future.

The Texans have signed 28-year old QB Kellen Clemens.  Clemens played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 6 yards without a TD pass or INT (56.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 9 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run last year for the Jets.  Clemens has now played in 25 games (9 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 147 of 284 passes (51.8%) for 1,686 yards with 5 TD passes and 11 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 46 times for 128 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.  Clemens is 4-5 (44.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  Clemens will start out #3 on the depth chart behind Matt Leinart and rookie T.J. Yates, but he could move up if he looks good in practice.

UPDATE:  (12/7/2011) – The Texans have released Kellen Clemens to make room for Jeff Garcia on the roster.  Clemens didn’t get into any games for the Texans.

The Texans have re-signed 26-year old safety Quintin Demps.  Demps played in 2 games earlier this year for the Texans and he had 1 tackle.  He has played in 27 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 33 tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Demps also has returned 58 kickoffs for 1,469 yards (25.3 avg) with 1 TD return in his career so far.  This was a solid addition to the Texans as Demps can provide depth in the secondary while also helping out on special teams.

The Houston Texans have signed 28-year old WR David Anderson.  Anderson played in 12 games for the Texans last year and he caught 11 passes for 117 yards (10.6 avg).  He has played in 61 games in his first five years in the NFL (all with the Texans) and he has caught 81 passes for 886 yards (10.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  With Kevin Walter out a while, this signing made perfect sense.  Anderson knows the offense and he should be ready to play this weekend against the Dolphins.

The Texans have signed 30-year old WR Bryant Johnson.  Johnson played in 14 games (7 starts) for the Lions last year and he caught 18 passes for 210 yards (11.7 avg).  He has now played in 123 games (74 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has caught 308 passes for 3,848 yards (12.5 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  Johnson will likely serve as the Texans’ #4 or #5 WR in 2011.

The Texans have signed 29-year old WR Devard Darling and 25-year old RB Javarris Williams.  Darling played played in the NFL back in 2008 with the Chiefs.  Darling has played in 46 games (10 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 37 passes for 578 yards (15.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Javarris Williams’ only NFL experience came back in 2009 with the Chiefs.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs in 2009 in which he carried the ball 6 times for 6 yards (1.0 ypc).  Darling & Williams are both longshots to make the Texans but it never hurts to sign guys like this to provide depth.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Texans have placed Devard Darling on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a knee injury.

The Houston Texans sign 28-year old linebacker Tim Dobbins.  Dobbins played in all 16 games for the Chargers last year and he had 47 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 78 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 198 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 7 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Texans need all the help they can get on defense, so I like this pickup for them as Dobbins is a tough linebacker.

The Texans have signed 28-year old fullback Lawrence Vickers to a 2-year deal.  Vickers played in 16 games (4 starts) for the Browns last year and he carried the ball 5 times for 11 yards (2.2 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 15 yards (3.8 avg) last year.  He has now played in 76 games (36 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 33 times for 87 yards (2.6 ypc).  Vickers has also caught 41 passes for 271 yards (6.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Vickers is a solid fullback but he’s a little bit of a downgrade from Vonta Leach who left the Texans to sign with the Baltimore Ravens.