Stevie Brown decided to make Houston his home before he ever knew he was going to be a Texan.
Brown, who signed as an unrestricted free agent on May 1, bought a house to be closer to his sister as soon as his 2014 season with the New York Giants was over.
"My sister, actually one of my favorite people in his world, is down here and we're really close," Brown said on Tuesday's Texans All Access. "She's been down here since 2000 and she always tries to get me to come down here and we visit her. It's a nice city. I like the city: the weather's warm, the taxes are good, so I came down here, checked out a few areas, saw a house that I liked and ended up getting it."
The newly signed safety plans to do the same with his role on the Texans defense – make himself at home.
"It's an impressive team," Brown said. "One of the reasons why I wanted to come here. The defense came together very well last year and that was definitely something that factored into my decision in coming here. It's something I believe finished good last year and it's going to be even better this year so I wanted to come in and be a part of that."
Now entering his fifth NFL season, Brown (5-11, 215) can play both roles at safety. The Texans label them left and right safeties versus strong and free. He's also had experience playing linebacker during his senior year at the University of Michigan, something that the Romeo Crennel's defense often requires. His versatility has given him a big picture understanding of everyone's role, not just on the back end but the entire defense.
The 27-year-old is now looking forward to reaping the benefits of a defensive line headlined by Watt's pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Knowing that the NFL Defensive Player of the Year is up front makes his job easier.
"It helps me out a lot. J.J. gets to the quarterback right now," Brown said. "The quarterback won't have time to hold the ball so he's going to be rushing throws, he's going to be throwing some errant passes, and that works out perfectly for us on the back end."
Brown started eight of 16 games in 2014 with the New York Giants and posted 36 tackles, one sack, and a pass defensed. He has recorded a career 115 tackles, eight interceptions, 14 passes defensed, one sack, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 55 games (20 starts).
