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Houston Texans News & Rumors

NFL Injury Updates: Wharton, Lions, Colts

September 11th, 2025 at 7:21pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton suffered a hamstring injury in his Panthers debut and will miss time as a result.

Head coach Dave Canales said (via team reporter Darin Gantt) that Wharton’s absence would be “somewhere in the two- to four-week range.” That could preclude a move to injured reserve, as Wharton would be sidelined for a mandatory four week after his placement. Given the nature of his injury, the Panthers likely want to get him back on the practice field sooner as he ramps up to game readiness.

Wharton, 27, signed in Carolina this offseason for $15MM per year with the hopes of combining with Derrick Brown and A’Shawn Robinson to upgrade the Panthers’ interior pass rush. The former Chief put up a career-high 6.5 sacks in 2024 and added two more in the playoffs.

Until Wharton returns to the field, the Panthers will lean on a backups Bobby Brown and Jaden Crumedy. Rookie Cam Jackson should also get more opportunities after sitting as a healthy scratch in Week 1.

Here are several other injury updates from around the NFL:

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/10/25

September 10th, 2025 at 8:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s taxi squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Released from practice squad/injured list (with injury settlement): WR Jalen Reagor

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

With regular punter Tress Way in danger of missing this week’s Thursday Night matchup in Green Bay with a back injury, Washington has signed the former 49ers veteran as insurance.

Texans Place TE Cade Stover On IR, Promote Harrison Bryant

September 10th, 2025 at 5:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Cade Stover will be unavailable to the Texans for an extended period. The second-year tight end was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, per a team announcement.

Stover suffered a broken foot in Week 1, so today’s move comes as little surprise. He will now miss the next four games at a minimum. Houston’s tight end depth had already taken a hit with Brevin Jordan being lost for the season.

Now, the position will be even thinner through the early portion of the campaign. Stover made a team-high four catches in Week 1 as the Texans struggled on offense, and he was in line to continue operating as a key figure in the passing game. In his absence, veteran Dalton Schultz will take an an increased role. Stover, whose rookie contract runs through 2027, will aim for a midseason return to the lineup.

The Texans entered Wednesday with a pair of tight end options on their practice squad. As expected, the team is taking the internal route to replace Stover. Veteran Harrison Bryant was promoted to the active roster in a corresponding move to Stover’s IR placement. Bryant has been in the fold since he was included in the John Metchie trade.

That swap prevented the 27-year-old from seeing any regular season time with the Eagles despite signing with them in free agency this spring. Bryant played out his rookie deal with the Browns and took a one-year pact with the Raiders in 2024. The former fourth-rounder has 78 appearances and 33 starts to his name, so he will add experience (but a limited pass-catching presence, based on his production over the past two seasons in particular) to Houston’s offense.

Houston will be part of a doubleheader on Monday night during a game against Tampa Bay. As the team looks to bounce back from its Week 1 loss, the tight end position could be one to watch closely.

Texans Sign DL Tommy Togiai To Extension

September 9th, 2025 at 8:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Tommy Togiai is sticking in Houston through the 2026 season. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the Texans have signed the defensive tackle to a one-year extension.

After spending the first two-plus months on the Texans practice squad to open the 2024 campaign, Togiai was signed to the team’s active roster last November. He ended up getting into eight games for Houston, collecting 28 tackles and 1.5 sacks. The lineman inked an extension last year that kept him in Houston through the 2025 campaign.

Togiai stuck around on Houston’s offseason roster and made the Texans initial 53-man squad. The 25-year-old was inactive for the team’s season opener, with Sheldon Rankins, Tim Settle, Mario Edwards, and Folorunso Fatukasi garnering the snaps at defensive tackle. However, the team still clearly believes enough in Togiai to commit to him beyond this year.

According to Wilson, the lineman’s new contract could hit a max value of $3.3MM in 2026. That’s a significant pay raise, as Togiai is earning $1.2MM this season. Edwards is the only one of the aforementioned DLs attached to a 2026 contract, so Togiai’s new deal may indicate that the player is in line for a larger role next season.

Texans TE Cade Stover Suffers Broken Foot

September 8th, 2025 at 2:26pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Texans’ tight end depth has been dealt another blow early in the season. Cade Stover suffered a broken foot yesterday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports.

Stover is now out indefinitely as a result. The news comes after fellow tight end Brevin Jordan was lost for the season in August. A lengthy absence in Stover’s case would leave Houston notably short on options at the position.

The 2024 fourth-rounder played 16 combined regular and postseason games as a rookie despite undergoing an emergency appendectomy in December. Stover also had offseason shoulder surgery but was at full strength in time for Week 1. Losing him for an extended period will leave the Texans with Dalton Schultz as their top tight end; only he and Stover dressed at that position on Sunday.

Houston has a pair of replacement options on the practice squad. Harrison Bryant – acquired from the Eagles in the John Metchie trade – as well as seventh-round rookie Luke Lachey are in place on the team’s taxi squad at the moment. It would come as little surprise if at least one were to be elevated to the active roster shortly. Bryant is a veteran of 78 games, so the pending free agent could offer experienced depth at the position at least until other roster moves take place.

Stover recorded just 15 receptions and one touchdown last season, but he served as the Texans’ starter yesterday. The 25-year-old led the team in catches with four, producing 22 yards along the way. As Houston looks to improve on offense moving forward, the team will do so without an important figure in the picture for the time being.

2025 Offseason In Review Series

September 7th, 2025 at 10:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are PFR’s breakdowns of each NFL team’s 2025 offseason.

AFC East

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

NFC West

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/25

September 6th, 2025 at 7:28pm CST by Ely Allen

With our first slate of Sunday games tomorrow, we’ll see our first slew of standard gameday practice squad elevations. Here are today’s minor transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Each NFL team is granted up to two standard gameday practice squad elevations each game, allowing them to call up two members of their practice squad who are able to play in that weekend’s game. After the game is played, the elevated players revert back to the practice squad with no transaction required. This differs from the situation with somebody like Crumedy in Carolina. With Mathis’ placement on injured reserve opening a spot on the 53-man roster, Crumedy has been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster, where he will remain until he is cut or his contract expires.

Practice squad players can be called up a maximum of three times under a single practice squad contract. If a team wants to call up a player who’s been called up three times already, the team will usually sign the player to their active roster for a game, cut them after, and then sign them to a new practice squad contract. Under the new contract, the player would be eligible to be elevated for three more games.

As the Dolphins await Jason Sanders‘ return from IR, Patterson was named the winner of a kicking audition with three other veteran kickers. Miami will be able to elevate him three times but will have to promote him to the active roster for any games between that and Sanders’ activation. Similarly, Prater will likely be on the same plan in Buffalo.

Haener’s stint on the Saints’ active roster was short-lived as the team decides to move forward with only two quarterbacks. Spencer Rattler will handle starting duties to begin the campaign with second-round rookie Tyler Shough serving as his backup.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/3/25

September 3rd, 2025 at 8:11pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: CB Eli Ricks
  • Released: OL Hollin Pierce

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

  • Released: DL Isaiah Raikes

The Ravens added a notable special teamer to their taxi squad today, agreeing to a deal with veteran J.T. Gray. The 29-year-old spent his entire professional career with the Saints before getting cut by the team last week. The majority of Gray’s playing time has come on special teams, where he’s earned three All-Pro nods for his efforts. As Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic notes, the veteran will likely see a role in Baltimore, as the team is still looking to fill holes left by a handful of departed core special teamers this past offseason.

To accommodate the addition of old friend Gabe Davis to the practice squad, the Bills had to get a bit creative. Temporarily, the team has released veteran safety Jordan Poyer, but the former Buffalo starter shouldn’t be gone for long. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, Poyer is expected to rejoin the Bills practice squad once Davis is placed on the taxi squad injured list.

The Lions landed on a third-string quarterback after holding an audition earlier today. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that the team has signed C.J. Beathard to the practice squad. Beathard worked out for the team earlier today alongside Nathan Peterman. Beathard has only started one game since garnering 12 starts for the 49ers between 2017 and 2020. He split last season with the Jaguars and Dolphins without getting into a game. In Detroit, he’ll serve as a third-stringer behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen.

AFC South Notes: Texans, Jaguars, Grant

September 3rd, 2025 at 3:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans shopped Cam Robinson before last week’s roster-setting deadline but held onto the $12MM tackle. However, Houston’s O-line overhaul indeed will not have a Week 1 job waiting for the ninth-year veteran. Aireontae Ersery beat out Robinson for the Texans’ left tackle position, according to the team’s depth chart. This indicates a high degree of confidence in the Minnesota product, whom the team traded up for in Round 2. Robinson joins 2024 second-round pick Blake Fisher as backup tackles. The veteran’s name could appear in pre-deadline trade rumors for the second straight year. Laken Tomlinson, Jake Andrews and Ed Ingram round out Houston’s front five. Robinson, 29, has started all 101 games he has played. That streak will end Sunday.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

Texans To Extend QB Davis Mills

September 2nd, 2025 at 5:19pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Last September, the Texans signed backup quarterback Davis Mills to an extension as he entered a contract year.

Almost exactly a year later, Houston is tacking on another year to Mills’ deal, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Mills’ extension is worth a fully guaranteed $7MM, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, securing his services through the 2026 season as the No. 2 quarterback behind C.J. Stroud.

Mills, a 2021 third-round pick, wrested the starting job away from Tyrod Taylor as a rookie and carried it into 2022. However, it quickly became clear that he was not a long-term option under center after throwing a league-high 15 interceptions in 15 games. His struggles led the Texans to a 3-13-1 record in 2022, allowing them to draft Stroud with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft. Over his two years as a starter, Mills completed 62.8% of his passes for 5,955 yards for 35 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.

Since then, Mills has served as Stroud’s backup with six games played and zero starts. Virtually all of his appearances have come at the end of blowouts with one true relief showing in 2023.

Mills’ 2024 extension was worth $5MM, so his new deal includes a solid raise as well as some security for another year. However, Stroud will become eligible for an extension next offseason, so Houston may not be able to spend premium backup money on Mills for the rest of the decade. The Texans drafted former Wisconsin and Florida quarterback Graham Mertz in the sixth round of April’s draft and may look to groom him as a successor to Mills in their quarterback room.

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