4:00pm: The Texans cut Manning with the “failed physical” designation, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.
12:12pm: The Texans have released veteran safety Danieal Manning, reports ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The team had reportedly been working to get Manning to accept a pay cut to remain in Houston, but it appears the two sides couldn’t reach a compromise.
Manning, 31, suffered a fractured fibula in October 2013, forcing him to miss 10 games last season. Considering he was returning from a major injury and entering the final year of his contract, Manning’s 2014 cap hit of $6MM made him a potential cap casualty for the Texans. The team creates $4.5MM in cap savings with the move, and has already fortified the safety position by signing Chris Clemons and Kendrick Lewis this month.
Once the move becomes official, Manning will immediately hit the market, and could draw interest from teams still in need of some veteran depth in the secondary.