HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans brought back a familiar face Wednesday, and he immediately made his presence felt.
Safety Quintin Demps intercepted quarterback Tom Savage during a late-practice team drill in his first practice since being re-signed by the Texans.
"It felt good, though, getting my hand on the ball," Demps said. "Any time you can do that in this league it is huge. ... J-Jo (Johnathan Joseph) was the first one there, we are like brothers. I played with him three years, that’s my guy. Him, Kareem (Jackson) and Eddie P (Eddie Pleasant). They are like family."
Demps initially was with the Texans from December 2010 through the 2012 season. He then spent time with the Chiefs and Giants. The Texans also signed defensive end Fili Moala and waived Jasper Coleman and Mike McFarland. They'll put McFarland on injured reserve once he clears waivers. McFarland was a promising undrafted rookie tight end who suffered a lower leg injury.
Demps got some time with the safeties on defense and also in the return game. The Texans needed numbers at safety because of the injury to Lonnie Ballentine, a rookie last season who spent 2014 on injured reserve. Though this defense is a little bit different from what he last played with the Texans when Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator, Demps feels comfortable.
"I love the defense," Demps said. "I didn’t so much really fit New York’s defense. I’m a 3-4 safety, so I’m excited about that. Really excited about that."
