Brown has been suspended for eight games for violating the NFL's policy on performance enhancing drugs, NFL.com reports. Brown, who was waived by the Texans last month, could catch on with another team once his suspension is complete, but he's no longer a candidate to bolster any team's running back depth early on.

Brown was released by the Texans on Monday, Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com reports. The Texans rid themselves of both Brown and Dennis Johnson from their backfield, leaving Jonathan Grimes, Alfred Blue, and Tim Cornett as the sole healthy running back options at the moment. Meanwhile, Brown's release isn't too much of a shock considering he garnered no carries in the first preseason tilt, after which he was listed as the fifth running back on the depth chart.

Brown appears to be, at best, fifth on the depth chart, CSN Houston reports. He didn't play in the preseason opener Saturday while Jonathan Grimes, Alfred Blue and Dennis Johnson got all the carries. Head coach Bill O'Brien hasn't laid out the running back depth chart, but all indications are that Brown is not high on the list. After not using Brown in the preseason opener, O'Brien would only say that Brown is "involved with special teams" and that the running back position is "challenging" and "competitive." It would appear O'Brien has learned a few things from his former boss, Bill Belichick, including vagueness when answering questions. Things could change before the end of training camp, but for those looking for Arian Foster insurance, it looks like Grimes is the best bet right now.

Houston head coach Bill O'Brien explained Brown not playing in Saturday's preseason opener, noting the team wasn't on offense enough to give him a chance, the Houston Chronicle reports. The Texans ran just 41 offensive plays Saturday and starter Jonathan Grimes gobbled up most of the first-half carries before giving way to Alfred Blue and Dennis Johnson in the second half. O'Brien wanted to see the first-team offense execute and left them in for much of the first half. What hasn't been explained is why Brown wasn't the starter, despite being listed second on the depth chart behind injured No. 1 running back Arian Foster (undisclosed). It could be simply that O'Brien knows what he has in the veteran Brown and wanted to get a good look at the inexperienced guys.

Brown, who did not play in Houston's first preseason game Saturday night, appears to have been the victim of the game circumstances. Head coach Bill O'Brien said he stuck with starter Jonathan Grimes because Houston's inept offense didn't get off many plays in the first half, the Texans' official site reports. O'Brien added that he wanted to get rookie Alfred Blue some work, too, and it just worked out that Brown didn't get into the game. We expect to get more clarification in the coming days regarding the running back depth chart. An unofficial depth chart for Saturday's game was released by the team earlier in the week and it showed Brown as the number two behind starter Arian Foster, who was unavailable Saturday due to injury.

Brown did not play in the first half of Saturday's preseason opener against the Cardinals, The Houston Chronicle's Brian T. Smith reports. With Arian Foster (undisclosed) out, Brown was in line to get the start, with Alfred Blue expected to work as the top backup. Instead, Jonathan Grimes got the starting nod, and Blue was second into the game. Brown surprisingly didn't play at all, but we wouldn't read too much into it. There will likely be some explanation either late Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.

Coach Bill O'Brien said Andre Brown is a first- and second-down back only. Starter Arian Foster will be O'Brien's Kevin Faulk/Danny Woodhead, playing the role of passing back. That leaves the 227-pound Brown as an early-down pounder, and one that would be part of a committee if Foster were to go down. Brown, who averaged just 3.53 YPC for the Giants last year, is a weak handcuff.

Texans agreed to terms with RB Andre Brown, formerly of the Giants, on a one-year contract. The Texans have their Ben Tate replacement. Older than Tate and even more injury prone, Brown is not an upgrade behind Arian Foster, but was easily the second-best back left on the market behind Chris Johnson. Brown started the final eight games for the Giants last season, but averaged only 3.53 yards per carry. For his career, the 27-year-old Brown owns a 4.09 YPC. Brown will begin training camp as the clear No. 2 on the depth chart, but won't be miles ahead of Dennis Johnson and Jonathan Grimes.

Free agent RB Andre Brown is visiting the Texans Monday.

The Raiders are hosting free agent Andre Brown on Wednesday. Nevermind a porous defense. Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie is going all-in on injury-plagued running backs in decline, first re-signing Darren McFadden and now targeting Brown to ostensibly form a "one-two punch" of sub-4.0 YPC backs. Brown, 27, has not drawn interest elsewhere during the free agency period.