Cleveland Browns sign safety Rahim Moore
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns have reportedly added safety Rahim Moore, a free agent from the Houston Texans.
The Cleveland Browns signed safety Rahim Moore on Wednesday, the team’s fourth signing since free agency started on March 9.
Browns signing former Texans safety Rahim Moore, according to a source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 16, 2016
Moore spent last season with the Houston Texans, joining the AFC South club on a three-year, $12 million deal. But he was benched after starting six games for the Texans, and was inactive for the final nine regular-season games and Houston’s lone playoff game.
Why was he benched and ultimately released, you ask? Reportedly Moore’s tackling, pursuit angles, coverage and biting on play-action fakes are all “glaring issues” that the Texans no longer could cope with.
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“It was mortifying, crying, all kinds of stuff, but that’s because I love football a lot,” Moore told The Houston Chronicle about his benching. “You want to be out there. It’s shocking, it’s never a good feeling. Sometimes, in life you just can’t understand.”
All told, the 26-year-old Moore had 16 tackles and two passes defensed, including one interception for the Texans.
A second-round pick in 2011 out of UCLA by the Denver Broncos, Moore spent his first four seasons in Denver. He had a major health scare in 2013 when he faced the prospect of having his left leg amputated as he was suffering from acute compartment syndrome. According to an article from Monday Morning Quarterback at the time:
"Compartment syndrome is a rare condition that occurs when pressure builds to extreme levels within muscles. In layman’s terms, swelling occurs, trapping excessive pressure in compartments that we all have in our muscles, which are contained by strong connective tissue called fascia and have a finite amount of room to expand. As blood keeps flowing in and the flow out decreases, pressure mounts, and the surrounding area is deprived of nourishment. Cells die off as the blood flow becomes restricted or cut off entirely, damaging or even killing the affected muscles."
“I didn’t know if I would ever walk again,” Moore said at the time. “I didn’t know if I would ever be the Rahim that I know I can be, and also be able to have the footwork and be swift and things like that.”
Moore made a full recovery in just six months, and odds of compartment syndrome recurring are less than 15 percent.
He joins linebacker Demario Davis, offensive tackle Alvin Bailey and linebacker Justin Tuggle as the Browns’ free agent signings. The Browns are currently using free agency to get younger while not spending a lot of cash in the opening act of their latest rebuilding effort.
With former starting safety Tashaun Gipson now in Jacksonville, Moore is a candidate to be in the mix with Jordan Poyer for the free safety role come the fall.
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