The Texans have signed quarterback Jeff Garcia and punter Matt Turk. Both players practiced with the team on Wednesday.
Garcia, 41, gives the Texans another veteran with Jake Delhomme behind rookie starter T.J. Yates. A four-time Pro Bowler, he played for Texans quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp with the San Francisco 49ers from 1999-2003. He tried out for the Texans twice in the last two weeks, including last Tuesday with Delhomme.
"I almost signed 'em both a week ago," Kubiak said. "All this time that we're having to spend with Jake to get him ready for an emergency situation, what I saw Knapper and Rico (offensive coordinator Rick Dennison) go through last week, I said, 'You know, let's bring him in here. Let's do it with both of them, so if we do hit a problem, at least we've got two guys vested in what we're doing and two veterans who have played in some big games.' I thought that was important at this point."
Garcia has been out of the NFL since 2009, when he had a two-week stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played for the Omaha Nighthawks in the United Football League in 2010.
"We didn't ask him to do much (Wednesday)," Kubiak said. "We were trying to get the cadence down and just get him going. It's just nice to be able to work with both of 'em (Garcia and Delhomme) so we know we've got a little bit of a comfort zone there."
Turk, 43, replaces rookie Brett Hartmann, who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. He played for the Texans from 2007-10, averaging 42.2 yards per punt (37.4 net). He was the holder for kicker Neil Rackers on field goals last season.
Turk was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars this season after five games.
"Matt takes care of himself," Kubiak said. "We're lucky from that standpoint because he can come in and hold for Neil and we keep going from that standpoint. We've been lucky. We're lucky to get him."
Turk is the oldest player in the NFL. Garcia is the third-oldest, behind Turk and 42-year-old Saints kicker John Kasay.
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