Brandon Weeden wasn’t unemployed for long, and the uncertain quarterback situation in Houston means the Texans need Weeden to report for work immediately.
The Texans claimed Weeden off waivers Wednesday. The Texans are on a short-week situation and lost starting quarterback Brian Hoyer to a concussion during their win Monday night in Cincinnati. Weeden, waived Tuesday by the Cowboys, becomes the third quarterback on the Texans’ roster behind Hoyer and T.J. Yates, who played after Hoyer was injured.
Hoyer didn’t practice Wednesday, and Texans coach Bill O’Brien said Hoyer will need to practice at least once this week if he’s going to play Sunday vs. the Jets. Zac Dysert is on the practice squad and was set for a promotion before the claim of Weeden.
The Texans are 4-5 and tied atop the AFC South with the Colts, who are without Andrew Luck for a while and claimed Charlie Whitehurst last week to serve as the backup to Matt Hasselbeck. It’s possible that the Texans claimed Weeden to keep the Colts from getting him. The Texans are ahead of the Colts in the waiver process.
Hoyer and Weeden were teammates in 2013 with the Browns; Hoyer took the starting job after Weeden suffered an injury but tore his ACL three games later. The coach of the 2013 Browns, Rob Chudzinski, is now the Colts’ offensive coordinator.
The Browns cut Weeden after the season and he signed with the Cowboys. Weeden has lost 11 straight starts dating back to his rookie season of 2012 with the Browns; he was 0-3 as the Cowboys’ starter before getting replaced by Matt Cassel last month.
Yates was out of the league until the Texans cut Ryan Mallett last month.