3 undrafted free agents are cut out for NFL
Stephen Anderson was hoping for a formal assurance that he had indeed made the Texans’ roster while contending with a weekend filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
During a team meeting, the undrafted free agent rookie tight end sought out tight ends coach John Perry to get confirmation his status on the team was official.
“I thought it was going to be like, ‘OK, you guys made the team, this is our team for the year,’” Anderson said Monday inside the Texans’ locker room. “But this is a business. This happens every year. So we just had the team meeting and he started talking about Chicago. I went to my position coach and I’m like, ‘Is it official?’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ That’s how I found out.”
The news triggered a lot of emotions for Anderson and his family back in California, along with the two other undrafted free-agent rookies who survived the final cutdown to the NFL roster limit of 53 players.
The Texans retained Anderson, defensive end Joel Heath and outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett.
“Called my mom, she started crying,” said Anderson, a former honorable-mention All-Pac-12 selection from California. “Called my dad, he started crying. Called my sister, she started crying. A lot of emotion from my family back home. Just a whole bunch of support.
“I set a goal to make a team years ago. It was the greatest feeling I ever experienced. All the hard work, all the extra reps, all the making smart decisions, the discipline, it just felt worth it.”
Numbers game
For the second consecutive year, the Texans kept three undrafted rookies on the roster to start the season.
A year ago, offensive linemen Greg Mancz and Kendall Lamm and outside linebacker Carlos Thompson made the team as undrafted rookies. Over the past four years, 11 undrafted rookies have made the opening-week roster.
The Texans didn’t have any draft picks in the sixth round or seventh round, so many undrafted players and their agents viewed the defending AFC South champions as a strong opportunity when choosing a team after the draft.
“Once they arrive here, we don’t care about whether they were drafted, undrafted, how they were acquired, how much money they make, like none of that really affects anything,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “The only thing that we care about is how they operate, how they take care of business, how they play, how they perform on and off the field.
“They all earned the right to be on the team right now. That’s the big thing. We have to earn the right to be here. It’s very much a privilege to be in this league and be coaching and playing.”
Although Anderson went undrafted, the Texans beat out several teams when they convinced him to sign a three-year, $1.625 million contract that included a $5,000 signing bonus. Before the draft, Anderson (6-2, 235) visited the Dolphins and worked out privately for the Patriots, Titans and Falcons.
A former walk-on at Cal who earned a scholarship, Anderson caught 87 passes for 1,135 yards and seven touchdowns over the last two seasons.
“I think just what they brought me in for, just to be a mismatch,” Anderson said. “They wanted me to beat linebackers, be bigger on safeties, and that’s what I did. I feel like one of the main things I brought in was just focus.
“I just came in and just kind of stuck to my task, stuck to the assignments that I had. I think that’s how I got to be on the 53.”
Overcoming injury
When Scarlett suffered a hamstring injury and was placed on the non-football injury list to start training camp, he was concerned that his long convalescence would prevent him from getting an opportunity to prove himself.
However, Scarlett made the team after a preseason in which he recorded 10 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble.
“It’s a dream come true to finally be able to play in the NFL,” said Scarlett, an honorable-mention All-Pac-12 selection who transferred from Cal and had 5½ sacks last year in his lone season at Stanford. “I think they obviously believe in
me. It helps me a lot, too, to know that my coaching staff believes in my abilities and what I can do and just leaves it to me to go out there and work hard and go out there and do it.”
Heath (6-6, 293) intrigued the Texans enough after the draft that they gave him an $11,000 signing bonus, the largest of their undrafted rookie free agent class.
Heath had eight tackles and one sack and displayed a relentless style in pursuit.
“I showed them I love the game, I have passion for the game,” Heath said. “I can hustle and move to the ball. I have great athletic ability and just the desire to play football.”