The Texans informed veteran defensive tackle Brandon Dunn of his pending release Thursday night.
Dunn ended last season on injured reserve with a fractured hip, but had made a full recovery. The move came as a surprise to Dunn.
"It's the business," Dunn said in a telephone interview. "Gotta take the punches and roll with it. Nothing we can do about it. It's a business. Things happen for a reason. We keep going forward."
A former undrafted free agent from Louisville who previously played for the Chicago Bears, Dunn (6-foot-2, 300 pounds) signed a three-year, $12 million contract last year.
Dunn received a $1.5 million signing bonus last year and had $4 million guaranteed. He was due a $3.25 million base salary.
Dunn started 13 games last season and recorded 26 tackles and three quarterback hits.
Dunn, who has started 37 of 76 career games, has 114 career tackles, one sack, eight tackles for losses and nine quarterback hits.
Before training camp, Dunn discussed his recovery from his serious injury.
“I had a fracture in my hip, we recovered through the graces of God and our training staff in Houston, so it’s been great,” Dunn said. “It’s been a long journey and I’ve handled it and basically taken care of it the whole offseason. You’ve got to be smart about everything. I’ve been doing this injury rehab. It’s not an injury during a normal year, so I’ve been locked in and getting ready to get back to work.
“There really hasn’t been no days off. After the season, it’s been about rest and recovery and then I had to get back to it with the hip because it was a serious injury and get ready to play. I feel 100 percent now and I’m ready to compete.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.