With news that both J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus are lost for the season to injury, the Houston Texans hit the veteran free agent market for reinforcements on Tuesday.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the team signed former Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears pass rusher Lamarr Houston off the street.
The #Texans have agreed to terms with pass-rusher Lamarr Houston, source said. Some help with Whitney Mercilus out for the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 11, 2017
Houston, 30, was released by Chicago prior to the start of the regular year after spending each of the past three seasons with the team. During that span, he was nothing more than an injury-plagued bust, recording nine sacks in three seasons.
That came after Houston inked a five-year, $35 million contract with the Bears prior to the start of the 2014 campaign. The veteran did, however, record five-plus sacks in three of his first six NFL seasons.
The Texans also added another veteran player to their front seen Tuesday, signing defensive lineman Kendall Langford. The nine-year veteran has recorded 22.5 sacks throughout his career.
At 2-3 on the season, Houston is simply looking for experienced bodies on the defensive side of the ball. Its offense has put up an average of 45.5 points over the past two games with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson accounting for 10 total touchdowns during that span.