Stevie Brown released by Houston Texans; Could he return to Giants?

Former New York Giants safety Stevie Brown has been released by the Houston Texans. Naturally, with the Giants burning through safeties like a California wildfire through grass this preseason there will be speculation that Brown and the Giants could be headed for a reunion.

Would you be interested in that, Giants fans?

Brown, 28, had a breakout season for the Giants in 2012, intercepting eight passes in 11 starts. He missed 2013 with a torn ACL, and phis play was up and down in 2014. He played in 16 games with eight starts, but had only one interception and was benched in the middle of the season. The Giants didn't appear to try very hard to keep him during the offseason.

Brown signed with the Texans for $825K, with a small $40K guarantee. Why did Houston let him go? Tim McHale of SB Nation's Battle Red Blog offered some thoughts on that via e-mail:

"Brown was listed as the first-string strong safety heading into the preseason opener two weeks ago. I think the primary reason for his departure is that the team decided Andre Hal, a cornerback who was drafted in the seventh round in 2014 and was moved to safety in OTAs, could do the job as well or better for a lot less money (or perhaps not quite as well, but not appreciably worse enough to justify keeping Brown's salary on the books)."

Having already lost safeties Mykkele Thompson, Justin Currie and Bennett Jackson for the season, however, and with Nat Berhe uncertain to return after calf surgery on Friday, Brown might appeal to New York, however.

Berhe, for what it's worth, took to Twitter after his surgery. He is sounding optimistic about the possibility of returning this season. Among other things, Berhe said "surgery went great" and that there is "a high chance" he could play again this season.

I'm just ready to start the healing process. Calf muscle looked good, the clot behind it was just putting pressure on the muscle.

— Nat Berhe (@NatBerhe) August 28, 2015

Now that it's gone, I expect to heal up and play this season. I'm an expert in my body, knew something extra was going on. Now it's fixed.

— Nat Berhe (@NatBerhe) August 28, 2015