HOUSTON – The Houston Texans have signed unrestricted free agent S Stevie Brown, it was announced today. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Brown (5-11, 215), started eight of 16 games he played in last season with the New York Giants and posted 36 tackles, one sack and a pass defensed. For his career, he has recorded 115 tackles, eight interceptions, 14 passes defensed, one sack, two forced fumbles and two fumbles recoveries in 55 games (20 starts).
Brown signed with the Giants on April 2, 2012 and won two NFC Defensive Player of the Week awards in his first year in New York. He finished the 2012 season with a league-leading and franchise-record 307 return yards, which ranks as the fourth-highest single-season interception return yards total in NFL history. His eight interceptions, which was second-most in the NFL, was also the most by a Giant in a season since 1968. Brown missed the entire 2013 season due to an injury suffered in the preseason.
The 27-year-old Brown was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the 44th pick of the seventh round (251st overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. After one season with Raiders, he spent time in camp with the Carolina Panthers before signing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2011 and appearing in eight games.
Brown played four years at the University of Michigan, where he started at safety as a junior for the 2008 team and at linebacker for the 2009 team. As a senior captain in 2009, he led the Wolverines in tackles with 80 and recorded nine tackles in four different conference games.
