The Houston Texans continue to make noise ahead of the highly-anticipated 2015 NFL Draft, signing running back Chris Polk to a one-year, $760,000 contract on Tuesday, the National Football Post reports.
Polk, 25, hasn’t exactly torn up the stats sheet during his first three seasons. But he’s performed well when given opportunities, rushing for 270 yards and seven touchdowns on 57 carries (4.7 YPC).
Named the top undrafted player of the 2012 NFL Draft by Russ Lande of Sporting News, Polk also took full advantage of his opportunity at kick return duty last year, returning 11 kickoffs for 340 yards and a touchdown. That 30.9 YPR rate was fourth-best in the league (excluding anyone who only returned one or two kickoffs).
Polk is a solid between-the-tackles and goal-line back who should have a good chance of making the Texans’ final roster, given his added value on special teams. The 5-foot-11, 222-pound running back was given a restricted free agent tender following the 2014 season, but the Eagles rescinded the tender last week, which made him an unrestricted free agent.
This move doesn’t eliminate the possibility of the Texans taking Georgia star running back Todd Gurley with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft on Thursday night. But it might decrease the Gurley-Texans buzz. Houston seems poised to take one of the receivers (Jaelen Strong, Brashad Perriman, Dorial Green-Beckham or Nelson Agholor) or one of the top linebackers (Eric Kendricks, Shane Ray or Randy Gregory) with its first round pick.
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