Report: Aaron Colvin Released by Texans After Signing $34M Contract in 2018

The Houston Texans released cornerback Aaron Colvin on Tuesday, according to reports from ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The release comes one day after Colvin started in the Texans' 30-28 defeat to the New Orleans Saints.

He was the nearest defender on a nine-yard reception to Saints wideout Ted Ginn Jr. on New Orleans' final play from scrimmage before a Wil Lutz 58-yard field goal sealed the win.

Per Over the Cap, Colvin's $7.5 million base salary is guaranteed for this season.

The ex-Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback signed a four-year, $34 million contract ($18,000,000 guaranteed at signing) with Houston during the 2018 offseason. He played 10 games (two starts) for Houston last season, amassing 29 tackles.

Colvin came to Houston after a fantastic 2017 season with Jacksonville where he was just one of two players to defend over 500 snaps in coverage without allowing a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus. The other was the Saints' Marshon Lattimore.

Thanks in part to his efforts, Jacksonville finished the season with the No. 1 pass defense, according to Football Outsiders.

However, an ankle injury slowed Colvin down in 2018, forcing him to miss six games. Head coach Bill O'Brien referenced the injury when explaining to reporters why he kept him inactive for the team's playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts in January.

"I think, again, Aaron worked very hard. He's a good guy. He worked hard. He was injured in the first Colts game, and I think that was a tough injury. Not to make an excuse for him, but tough one to come back from. It was an ankle injury and it just—I'm not sure that he ever fully recovered from it. I don't want to speak for him, but we just felt like at the end of the day, we went with the 46 guys that we felt were the healthiest and the most ready to go."

Colvin still figured to be a big part of the team's 2019 plans, but the Texans have moved in another direction.

Without him, the Texans should turn to Keion Crossen.

The 23-year-old is the next man up on the depth chart and received the most snaps at defensive back on Monday outside starters Bradley Roby, Johnathan Joseph and Colvin, per Pro Football Reference.

Drafted in the seventh round by the New England Patriots last year, Crossen accumulated 14 tackles in 11 games. The Pats traded Crossen to the Texans for a sixth-round pick in August.