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.

The Texans have signed 27-year old cornerback Jonathan Joseph to a 5-year, $48.75 million dollar deal.  Joseph played in 12 games for the Bengals last year and he had 42 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and he defensed 8 passes.  Joseph has now played in 67 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 272 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 76 passes defensed and 14 interceptions (3 returned for TDs).  Joseph will be the new lockdown corner for the Texans who have needed one for a long, long time.

The Houston Texans have signed 28-year old safety Danieal Manning to a 5-year, $20 million dollar deal.  Manning played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he had 72 tackles, 1 interception and he defensed 7 passes.  He has now played in 77 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 346 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 26 passes defensed and 7 interceptions.  This was a good signing for the Texans as Manning is a pretty solid safety.

The Texans have signed 31-year old DE Jarvis Green to a 1-year deal.  Green played in 13 games for the Patriots last season and he had 36 tackles and 1 sack.  Green has now played in 121 games in his 8 years in the NFL and he has 232 tackles, 28 sacks, 5 passes defensed and 9 forced fumbles.  The Texans are hoping that Green can help them out in the last three weeks of the year.

The Texans have signed 25-year old DT DeMario Pressley.  Pressley played in 7 games for the Saints last season and he had 15 tackles.  He is a tad on the light side at 6’3″, 301 pounds but the Texans can use help along the D-Line any way they can get it.

The Texans have signed 25-year old safety Quintin Demps.  Demps played in 9 games for the Eagles last season and he had 14 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 25 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 32 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  Demps should help out the Texans in the secondary and they need the help.

The Texans have signed 32-year old DT Damione Lewis.  Lewis played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he had 41 tackles and 1/2 a sack.  Lewis has now played in 131 games in his NFL career and he has 245 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 22.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.  I think this has the potential to be a good pick up for the Texans who need some help along the D-Line.

The Texans have signed 25-year old linebacker Stanford Keglar.  Keglar played in 12 games for the Titans last season and he had 6 tackles.  Keglar has now played in 25 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 18 tackles.  The Texans signed Keglar for depth at linebacker and to help out on special teams which is two areas where they do need help.

The Texans have signed 27-year old DE Mark Anderson.  Anderson played in 4 games for the Bears this year and he had 8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Anderson has now played in 66 games in his NFL career and he has made 113 tackles, defensed 5 passes, has 21.5 sacks and he has 5 forced fumbles.  Anderson might be able to help the pass rush for the Texans so this was a nice signing for them.