The Houston Texans have signed 38-year old and 16-year veteran safety Mike Adams to the roster. The Texans' addition of Adams comes as a small surprise, but we are going to try and make sense of his signing.

Here is a quick look at Adams' credentials in the NFL.

Adams is a two-time Pro-Bowl selection and 15-year NFL veteran. The safety spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and Carolina Panthers. Adams has over 887 total tackles, 30 interceptions and 83 passes defended.

Adams Impact on the Texans

Insurance for the Starters

The Texans' safety group, especially the starters, are banged up, and it is only week four. Tashaun Gipson is playing with a small cast on his left hand. Justin Reid has been dealing with a shoulder injury that is bothering him, and it is clear after tackles it is an issue.

Adams could be insurance if something happens to Gipson or Reid, and it is better to get him in now than wait.

Adams Is Not Coming Here to Watch

When a player is a veteran like Adams with as many years, they have invested in the NFL. He would be arriving to a team that suits his needs as a player.

Adams is coming to contribute as a player, and he should be expected to be in the defensive rotation as soon as this week against the Atlanta Falcons.

Readjusting the Safety Group in Sub-Package Defenses

When the defense has to go to three-safety looks, the Texans have been struggling to find the right combination. It has to find the proper safety grouping to combat offenses when they roll out personnel to get the Texans into mismatches.

Through the first four weeks, the Texans have figured out that the one complete safety that can do what they need is Justin Reid. While Tashaun Gipson has shown to be better in man situations and Jahleel Addae is more suited to play near the line of scrimmage covering running backs.

Adams could slide into the deep safety role next to Reid, allowing Gipson to play tight ends in man-to-man coverage. Getting Gipson into a position that suits his strengths will only help the defense. Moving Gipson will enable Adams to play cover-two-three or four next to Reid freeing up others.

Addae would more than likely move into spot roles when they need combat running backs that split out in the formation.

The addition of Adams gives the Texans safety group much more versatility to adjust to personnel offenses throw at them down-to-down.

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