Card: Leaf Rookies & Stars 2005
Acquired: 2014, Albany Acquisition
In 2005, CC Brown was drafted by the Houston Texans out of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was twice decorated as an All-Sun Belt player. A good special teams performer and run supporter who had no problem laying down the wood, CC was definitely an enforcer at the line of scrimmage. Although lacking in pass coverage, Brown started right out of the gate for the Houston Texans his rookie year splitting time at both free safety and strong safety. He’d record 54 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and an interception in 13 games. The Texans dropped to 2-14 that season and fired head coach Dom Capers. The team converted to a 4-3 defense as Gary Kubiak was brought in to replace Capers. 2006, was Brown’s best year statistically, with 67 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception. Although 2007 brought a slight dip in CC’s stats, he’d still manage a pick and 64 tackles. A broken arm in late September, meant he lost most of the 2008 campaign to injured reserve. The Texans elected not to resign him for 2009, comfortable that Eugene Wilson and Dominique Barber were going to adequately replace him. CC signed with the New York Giants in 2009. He played one season for Big Blue, starting 7 games, making 49 tackles and 3 forced fumbles at free safety. He’d then jump over to the Lions and Jaguars for a season a piece before retiring after the 2011 season.
G/Gs 83/62 Tac 279 Sac 1.0 Fum 6 Int 3 Yds 14 Avg 4.6 Td 0 Lg 9
Andre Ware. Kudos to Andre for cheerfully signing 2 cards for me and Lance, even though he had his hands full with two kids by his side and all their stuff.
We talked briefly about how teams were keying in and figuring out the Texans offense last season. Cory stopped for a second to try to phrase it as delicately as possible, then just told me that the offense was simple. You could tell when a certain set of personnel was coming into the game, and when receivers lined up just outside the slot, what the team was going to run. The Texans offense also had very simple set of routes for their receivers, so their defensive backs knew when to come up to the line of scrimmage and just sit on the routes, especially when 
Word was that the venerable Redding might retire after the 2014 season. Cory was brought in by coach Chuck Pagano from Baltimore in 2012 to be a mentor to the younger bucks on the Colts D and teach them the ins and outs of the system. His initial plan was to retire after year 10, but here he is now in 2015 still chugging along, signing as a Free Agent with the Arizona Cardinals. Cory finished his degree in education and was inducted into the UT’s Hall of Honor in November of 2014.