The Houston Texans agreed to terms with former San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward during the legal tampering period of free agency.
The Texans are adding a defensive back who has been with the 49ers since 2014 when he was a first-round pick, which means Ward predates DeMeco Ryans’ rise through the ranks as a coach. Spending 2017-22 with the 49ers and going from defensive quality control to defensive coordinator, Ryans was able to see the value Ward brought to a secondary.
Ward was also a part of the 49ers during the club’s joint training camp with the Texans in mid-August 2018 at Houston Methodist Training Center. On Aug. 15, Ward and then-Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins got into a fight, and ESPN 97.5’s Paul Gallant shared the footage on his YouTube channel.
Hopkins spoke on the incident the day after and didn’t take the scuffle with Ward personally.
Said Hopkins: “Not much. A little scuffle. Basically a little game of tic-tac-toe. It’s football. That’s my friend. That’s football. It’s nothing more than us just out here playing football.”
The Texans are hopeful Ward still has some of the same attitude with him as he returns to Kirby Drive to help Ryans complete the rebuild in Houston.
