HOUSTON -- When he signed with the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad, Charles James made sure to find out if his signature socks would be OK with Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
They were, so the socks remained.
Now James and his socks are back with the Houston Texans. On Wednesday the Hard Knocks star practiced wearing what appeared to be a zebra-striped number with pink, yellow, blue and purple involved. He's even starting a sock line soon, smartly capitalizing on his socks-related fame. But that's not all James is back to do.
"I also want people to know that I’m not just back to get fan support or to sell socks or anything like that," James said. "I’m back to try to help this team win. Make plays."
The Texans believed he could make plays during his time with them in training camp. He even scored a touchdown on a running play during one of the Texans' preseason games. The touchdown was called back, but that mattered little to any of the celebrating Texans.
He lost a tight battle with Jumal Rolle for the Texans' final cornerback roster spot at the end of the preseason. When Houston offered him a place on the practice squad, James opted to try his luck with the Ravens' practice squad instead. Baltimore promoted James to the active roster and then released him all in the past week.
After his release, James agent called.
"He was laughing," James said. "I was like, 'I hope this is good. What happened?' He was like, 'The Texans claimed you.' I was like oh wow. This is crazy."
Texans general manager Rick Smith called to tell James it was time to come home.
"Because just the love that Houston shows, the fans, the team, out of all three places I’ve been, this feels like home to me," James said.
The Texans are expecting him to give a boost to their special teams. They were able to sign James with the roster spot they got for placing safety Lonnie Ballentine on injured reserve.
"It’s awesome, man," James said. "God is good. I’m blessed. I’m excited. When rick called me and told me it was time to come home, I just laughed. It was a joyful feeling. I’ve been thanking god all day."
