Texans Cut Rookies Wood, Montgomery, and Jefferson
By Yoni Pollak
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Reports earlier this afternoon came out that the Texans cut Cierre Wood, Sam Montgomery, and Willie Jefferson. The news was surprising to many and sent Texans fans into more misery (including myself). The three rookies all got little to no playing time this season but they still had plenty of upside.
John McClain was the first to report the cuts.
Texans waived RB Cierre Wood, DE Sam Montgomery, OLB Willie Jefferson. Sources say they violated team rules at KC hotel. Got sent home.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) October 21, 2013
The violations must have been serious right? Well not according to the players.
On Sam Montgomery:
Sam Montgomery - "I made a childish mistake." Added no illegal substances were involved in him breaking #Texans team rules.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 21, 2013
Sam Montgomery says he walked into a hotel room where Jefferson & Wood were smoking a cigar. Went to team meetings and was called by Kubiak
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 21, 2013
On Cierre Wood:
At the end of the day its buisness. Pure buisness.
— N I N O S 🌎 (@stadium20status) October 21, 2013
On Willie Jefferson:
Gary Kubiak had no comment about the cuts during his press conference today. It’s important to note this is the player’s side of the story and there is likely more to the whole mess. Could smoking a cigar really have been the reason they were cut? It’s possible. Let’s just wait and see a few days to see if we hear any other information regarding the cuts. The three rookies were sent home on Sunday’s morning, hence why all three were inactive on Sunday.
Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
Sam Montgomery was inactive all season long. Montgomery was considered a bust from the moment he joined the team and many were shocked Rick Smith took a chance on him. Montgomery was off of many team’s draft boards due to his off-field problems and it was surprising the “classy” Texans selected him in the 2013 April draft. Montgomery will go down as one of the several early round busts in Rick Smith’s draft history.
Willie Jefferson also came in with some off-field problems but he earned his spot on the team with his strong preseason. Jefferson had strong upside but didn’t get much playing time behind Brooks Reed and Whitney Mercilus. Jefferson will now be replaced by Justin Tuggle and the Texans will look for more depth during the next week.
Cierre Wood was an undrafted free agent but also earned his spot with a strong preseason. Wood was expected to be the team’s number two running back next season and certainly would have gotten a lot of playing time in Sunday’s loss to the Texans. Wood’s loss will hurt the most and the Texans will now need to find another running back for the rest of the season and potentially next year as well.