AFC South Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Texans

Colts

Colts HC Frank Reich praised veteran OLB Justin Houston and recalled his four-sack game against the Chargers while he was their offensive coordinator in 2015. 

“I was the OC,” Reich said, via Kevin Bowen of 1070 The Fan. “I was in San Diego and it was the last game of the year and he got his final 4. We were chipping him, doubling him, chipping him. I’ve been dreaming about having him on my side for a while. He’s a special player.”

Colts GM Chris Ballard believes Houston “has a lot of football left in him” and will continue playing at a “high level” in their system.

“He’s a very big, talented, athletic player that can impact and disrupt the quarterback. Those players are hard to find,” Ballard. “We still think he has a lot of football left in him. That was one of our big sell points to him the system and what we do defensively that we could enhance and continue this career at a high level.”

Jaguars

Jaguars QB Nick Foles mentioned that throwing to the running backs will be a big part of their offense this season.

“That’s a threat,” Foles said, via Jaguars.com. “If you ask any defender, when a running back can go out of the backfield and not only run the ball and protect, but he can receive, that’s really tough on a defense. I’ve been blessed to play with a lot of great running backs in my career that have made me look good because what they can do and there is nothing better than throwing the ball to a running back and letting him miss a guy. That’s what I love about backs. If you can catch, you can do so many different things. You can have a lot of fun out there.”

Texans

Texans HC Bill O’Brien said S Jahleel Addae has been a “really good addition” on the field and in their locker room. 

“Jahleel has been a really good addition so far into our locker room, on our field,” O’Brien said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “He’s a competitive guy. He’s a smart guy. He’s played a lot of football in this league.”

O’Brien added that Addae has been “impressive” so far throughout the offseason program. 

“He’s, in many ways, come up the hard way in this league, and he’s been a good addition so far,” said O’Brien. “Obviously this is not real football, there’s no pads on and things like that, but to this point he’s really been an impressive addition to our team.”

• The Texans made the move on from Patriots executive Nick Caserio on Friday, which led to New England dropping the tampering charges they filed against Houston. Caserio’s contract reportedly includes a clause that prevents him from interviewing with other teams. 
• Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that some in league circles are now asking whether the Caserio clause complies with league rules.
• A league source tells Florio that at least one other team has had a similar clause in the contract of a non-high-level employee and it was later challenged by a separate team and ultimately invalidated by the NFL. 
• With this in mind, Florio says the Texans could have challenged the Caserio clause and it’s unclear whether they knew this.