Texans Morning Huddle: Roster Shake Up, Hopkins Reliability

Wednesday is here Texans fans, and the weekend is almost close enough to see. Another day brings us more stories about our favorite team, the Houston Texans. Today we can catch up on stories about some roster shuffling, receiver  DeAndre Hopkins being incredibly reliable and a transformation by defensive back Andre Hal. Let’s jump in;

Texans sign DEs Deaderick, Coleman; waive RB Brown – By Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle

"The Texans have signed defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick to a one-year deal.The 6-foot-4, 297-pound Deaderick played in 60 games (17 starts) from 2010-14 with New England, Jacksonville and New Orleans. He recorded eight tackles in 13 games (two starts) last season with the Saints as a defensive end."

Changed body, multiple positions for Andre Hal – By Drew Dougherty of HoustonTexans.com

"The 2014 rookie from Vanderbilt logged time at cornerback last season. He spent the offseason in town, putting in hours at the NRG Stadium weight room. With the commencement of OTAs, though, he’s also seen action at the safety spot.“We’ve put Andre Hal there,” head coach Bill O’Brien said on Monday. “He’s done some good things at safety over the first four OTAs that we’ve had.”Hal played cornerback in 14 games, notching 15 tackles and defending four passes. A 7th-round pick a year ago in May, he’s up for becoming more versatile.“I’m trying to do whatever I can to make the team,” Hal said. “We need some help at safety. We lost a couple guys. I’m just trying to step up and help the team.”"

Tempo will determine Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer QB battle for Texans – By Shawn Krest of CBSSports.com

"The Texans quarterback battle will come down to more than who puts up better numbers in the preseason. Coach Bill O’Brien is looking at the big picture when it comes to Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer.“I really think it’s important for these guys to be able to operate the offense at a high tempo,” O’Brien said, per HoustonTexans.com. “We have a lot of different types of tempo, but to be in and out of the huddle or when it’s no huddle, changing the pace of practice and handling that on their own. Being able to communicate the play, get people lined up, change the cadence, get us into the right play and then complete the pass.”"

Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins among most reliable in the NFL – By Sameer Bhuchar of 247 Sports

"Last season, Hopkins caught 76 passes for 1,210 yards, the 12th-best yardage total among WRs in the NFL last season. He accounted for 35-percent of the Texans’ receiving yards last year, which was the most in the NFL, and he’s averaging nearly 16 yards-per-reception overthe last two seasons. He did a lot of this despite Houston’s use of five different quarterbacks in the last two years.2015 is Hopkins’ year to assert himself as the leader of the Texans wide receiving corps. He played and learned alongside Andre Johnson for two seasons, but with his departure to the Colts, Hopkins is expected to carry the load for a position group that features Nate Washington, Cecil Shorts and Demaris Johnson among others. Texans fans are no strangers to Hopkins’ “wow factor” snags, but it’s his growing reliability that made Houston comfortable believing in him as the future of that group."