Sam Montgomery, Cierre Wood, Willie Jefferson released by Houston Texans

Houston Texans running back Cierre Wood (41) runs during the game against the Miami Dolphins at Reliant Stadium. The Houston Texans defeated the Dolphins 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans have released three players today for violating team rules at their hotel in Kansas City, and all three of these players are rookies. Pass rusher Sam Montgomery and No. 3 running back Cierre Wood are the two biggest names of them, as Willie Jefferson is an undrafted outside linebacker who also had some off-field concerns coming into the draft. Montgomery’s concerns were the biggest, and they caused the DE/OLB out of LSU to fall to the third round. The news was reported by the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain.

Montgomery has barely been in the league, but he already has the makings of a major third round bust. He was unable to show up at OLB, so the Texans moved him to DE in their 3-4 scheme and barely played him. He’s clearly a better fit as a 4-3 DE, and any team willing to take a flier on his talent should slot him in at that position. He’s not fast enough to rush the passer as an outside linebacker, and he doesn’t seem to be an ideal fit as a 3-4 DE either.

Wood looked excellent in the offseason and should definitely get looks from other teams, but this was as boneheaded of a decision as it gets. He could have received some nice carries if Arian Foster and Ben Tate suffered significant enough injuries yesterday, and Wood looked like a valuable young backup RB in the Texans organization; it’s crazy how one stupid decision can ruin things.

We’ll see the next place that these three players land, and Montgomery’s prospects will be especially interesting to watch. He has clear talented and was once projected as a first-round pick, but he has a myriad of character concerns that look perfectly warranted under the scope of this release.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.