Houston Texans have signed safety Jahleel Addae to their roster.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Houston Texans have added veteran free agent safety Jahleel Addae to the roster Tuesday afternoon. Addae signed with the San Diego Chargers after going undrafted from Central Michigan in 2013. The box safety was released in the offseason as the Chargers decided to stay flexible financially as they entered the start of free agency.
Texans general manager Brian Gaine spoke in his pre-draft press conference that it was likely the team would address the safety position through free agency rather than doing it through the NFL draft.
Addae played six seasons at safety and started in 59 of the 80 games in the Chargers secondary. He finished with 382 combined tackles,18 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 4.5 sacks, 21 pass deflections, and two interceptions.
The addition of Addae to the defense makes a lot of sense as Andre Hal announced his retirement ahead of the draft, and the Texans were in need of adding a capable contributor to their safety rotation. He will have the opportunity to earn the third safety spot on the roster with Tashaun Gipson and Justin Reid penciled in as the starting safeties in the secondary.
Addae will be joining his former teammates’ safety A.J. Hendy and linebacker Chris Landrum that were both in the Chargers defense prior to signing with the Texans towards the end of the 2018 season. Addae will also be joining Texans linebacker coach, John Pagano, who served as the Chargers defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2016.