Welcome back to the NFL, Thaddeus Lewis.
After being cut earlier this season after a poor performance in the preseason, the former Blue Devil standout is poised to sign with the Houston Texans, ESPN's Adam Shefter reported Monday evening.
The Texans are in need of a third-string quarterback after starter Ryan Mallet tore his right pectoral muscle, which may cause him to miss the rest of the season. Thus the need for Lewis, who has worked out for multiple teams including the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams since being cut by the Buffalo Bills Aug. 31. He will back-up veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick and rookie Tom Savage out of Pittsburgh.
Lewis threw for a program-record 10,065 yards as Duke's starting quarterback between 2006 and 2009 and also holds the program record for 2,006 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. He was named one of five finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award after a 3,330 yard, 20-touchdown and eight-interception performance during his senior season.
Despite his accomplishments in Durham, Lewis was not drafted in the 2009 draft and was signed by the Rams as a free agent. After bouncing around the league, he finally got his first start with the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 30, 2012, throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown in a 24-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A year later, he played in six games for the Bills, completing 60.8 percent of his passes for 1, 296 yards and five touchdowns in place of starter E.J. Manuel.
Although he may not see any action this season, Lewis' signing will take him out of the unemployment category. He becomes the eighth active former Duke player in the NFL along with Kenny Anunike (Denver), Ross Cockrell (Buffalo), Juwan Thompson (Denver), Cooper Helfet (Seattle), Sean Renfree (Atlanta), Vincent Rey (Cincinnati) and Matt Daniels (Jacksonville). All eight players played for head coach David Cutcliffe a some point between 2008 and 2013.
Just this week, Helfet caught a 20-yard touchdown pass against Arizona, Thompson rushed for 33 yards on five carries in a win against the Dolphins and Rey registered a team-high 10 tackles against Houston.
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