With one player’s injury and another’s legal troubles, Texans reportedly make move to bolster secondary

HOUSTON — The Texans secondary was stacked going into the season, but after an injury to a key offseason acquisition and legal troubles for another player, the team is making moves.

Houston is reportedly signing veteran free agent safety Jalen Mills to a deal. That’s according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who posted that he learned of the deal from Mills’ agents.

The need for more help in the secondary came after C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a knee injury and safety Jimmie Ward was arrested for the second time in three months.

Mills, 31, has been in the league for nine seasons, most recently with the New York Jets in 2024. Last season, Mills played in nine games, starting eight of them. He had 44 tackles and an interception.  

As CBS Sports’ Cody Nagel points out, Mills not only adds to the team’s secondary. He also adds to the growing number of players with similar first names.

“The signing also adds to Houston’s growing “Jaylen/Jalen/Jaylin/Jaylon” roster theme,” Nagel wrote. “Mills joins safeties Jalen Pitre and Jaylen Reed, cornerback Jaylin Smith, wide receiver Jaylin Noel and offensive lineman Jaylon Thomas — fortunately with different last names, sparing equipment staff and announcers from complete chaos.”

Mills, who is originally from North Texas, was drafted out of LSU by the Philadelphia Eagles. While in Philly, he helped the team win Super Bowl LII.

As for Gardner, he went down with an injury in practice last week. It was initially feared to be a torn ACL, but tests later showed there wasn’t a tear. At this point, it’s not known how serious the injury is.

In early March, Houston traded 2022 first-round pick Kenyon Green to the Eagles in exchange for Gardner-Johnson. The deal also included a 2026 draft pick swap — with the Eagles receiving a fifth-round pick and the Texans getting a sixth-round pick in return.

Gardner-Johnson, a playmaking veteran safety, added experience to a Texans secondary looking to build on its success under head coach DeMeco Ryans.

Ward was arrested Thursday on a felony warrant, according to jail records in Montgomery County.  Ward’s attorney, Steve Jackson, told KHOU 11 that Ward violated bond conditions from his June 12 arrest for allegedly assaulting and threatening a woman. That condition, according to Jackson, was that he wasn’t supposed to consume alcohol.

Jackson said Ward didn’t realize there was a no-alcohol condition and accepted responsibility. He spent one night in jail. Ward didn’t play in the team’s first preseason game.