The Houston Texans appear to have parted ways with wide receiver Sammie Coates.
Houston Texans wide receiver Sammie Coates has announced via his official Twitter account that his time in Houston has come to an end.
Thank you Houston!! Good Luck to y’all guys!
— Sammie Coates (@sammiecoates11) December 18, 2018
Coates was claimed off waivers in the offseason by then recently hired general manager Brian Gaine, Coates was seen at the time as a low-risk high reward transaction since he had that vertical speed that could put fear in opposing secondaries. Coates had a good training camp and preseason, he had five receptions for 70 receiving yards and averaged 14 yards per reception.
However, Coates was unable to get a lot of snaps in the offense, and he spent the majority of his time on special teams. The Texans preferred DeAndre Hopkins and Demaryius Thomas as the outside wide receivers, Keke Coutee and DeAndre Carter as the slot wide receivers.
The Texans were able to keep Vyncint Smith inactive on game days since he was a rookie still getting acclimated to the NFL level, but the team was doing a disservice keeping a veteran like Coates to a reserve role. Backup quarterback Joe Webb III had gotten snaps at wide receiver over Coates in the slot, so Coates spot in the offense seemed to be coming to an end sooner than later.
Coates had one reception for 12 yards for the Texans back in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans will have an open roster spot once Coates is officially waived by the team. Cornerback Kayvon Webster could be making his return with this move since he was designated to return and placed in the 3-week practice window after recovering on the IR from a quadriceps injury.