Defensive end Aaron Schobel was **released by the Buffalo Bills** on Wednesday, prompting speculation that the Texans might be interested in signing the two-time Pro Bowler.
Schobel, 32, has 78 career sacks. He told the *Houston Chronicle *on Monday that the Texans would **"without a doubt"** be his top choice if he were a free agent. A native of Columbus, Texas, about an hour away from Houston, Schobel played under Texans defensive line coach Bill Kollar for three seasons (2006-08) in Buffalo.
"He's a heck of a player obviously," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Wednesday afternoon. "I've followed him for a lot of years, being a local guy around town here. But we are going to do our homework on him like we do on every player. He's a fine football player. We'll do our homework, just like every other team, and see what happens."
Schobel had 10 sacks in 2009, the fourth double-digit sack season of his nine-year career. He was a second-round draft pick of the Bills out of TCU in 2001 and has spent his entire NFL career to date in Buffalo.
"Right now, it's all about evaluating him just like we do every player that's been released," Kubiak said. "You look at your team and see where you're at and what's going on with your team. We'll do that just like everybody else."
Schobel told the *Chronicle *on Monday that his relationship with Kollar was a factor in his interest in the Texans. The best season of Schobel's career came under Kollar in 2006, when Schobel recorded 14 sacks, made the Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro.
"Bill has obviously coached him and thinks a lot of him as a player," Kubiak said. "That's part of this league. Players are released... and you sit there and usually one of us (coaches) have a relationship with somebody. So from that standpoint, Bill speaks very highly of him."
