T.J. Yates is back with the Texans.
The quarterback who helped lead the team to the franchise's first playoff berth and victory signed with the Texans and practiced at the Houston Methodist Training Center on Wednesday.
"He's got some familiarity with our offense and can do the job for us," Bill O'Brien said.
View photos from Wednesday's practice as the Texans prepare for Sunday's game against the Titans.
The head coach also added that Yates had a "good" practice and showed "good recall" of the offense. For the fifth-year pro, it was a welcome return to his NFL roots.
"It was cool," Yates said. "I've been here so long and to come back now and kind of just go back into the same routine that I always was, walk back out the same way, it was really cool."
Yates was a 5th-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and wound up playing quarterback in six regular season games and a pair of playoff games. He engineered a game-winning drive at Cincinnati in Week 14, and the Texans would clinch their first AFC South title moments later when the Titans lost to New Orleans. Yates and Houston won a playoff game at home in the Wild Card round against the Bengals, and fell on the road next week to the Ravens.
"It's wild how everything kind of comes back and I end up back here," Yates said. "It's crazy, but I'm thankful for it."
The North Carolina Tar Heel spent three seasons with the club and was traded in 2014 to Atlanta in exchange for linebacker Akeem Dent. Yates was a backup with the Falcons last season, and was cut at the end of training camp this year.
Yates wasted little time in getting back into the Texans playbook.
"It started yesterday, and will continue through the week," offensive coordinator George Godsey said of Yates and his preparation.
Godsey also added that it's "good" because Yates has "some familiary with the offense".
A look at T.J. Yates' football career, from North Carolina to the Texans to Atlanta is examined in photos.
