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Latest On Texans’ RB Room

August 12th, 2022 at 9:04am CST by Adam La Rose

Much of the talk around the Texans’ 2022 offense is centered on second-year QB Davis Mills, but improving on last season’s league-worst rushing attack would give the unit a much-needed boost. The team’s first depth chart offers an important look into the team’s plans at the running back position. 

Houston has listed Marlon Mack as the lead back, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). The 26-year-old signed in April to try and rebuild his value after two disappointing campaigns with the Colts. He has played just seven games during that span, which was preceded by a two-year stretch in which he produced 1,999 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns.

Compared to the Colts’ backfield, which is now led by Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines, Mack should have a clearer path to a significant workload. He will be in competition with fellow veteran Rex Burkhead, who led the team with 427 rushing yards last season. Those two will be joined by fourth-round rookie Dameon Pierce at the top of the depth chart, which also includes Dare Ogunbowale and Royce Freeman.

A committee approach would come as little surprise at this point, given the lack of known commodities amongst the group. A return to his previous form from Mack would, however, be a welcomed sight for both the rebuilding team and his free agent value next offseason. Failing that, more attention being given to Pierce – who averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his career at Florida – during the course of the season could be expected.

Another member of the Texans’ RB room (at least for the time being) is Darius Anderson. The TCU alum had a burglary charge against him dropped last week, but he will still not be on the field in 2022. Wilson tweets that Anderson suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice. That means the soon-to-be 25-year-old will wait at least one more year to make his NFL debut, and the Texans will have a slightly clearer outlook on an important position group heading into the season.

Dolphins Trade TE Adam Shaheen To Texans

August 11th, 2022 at 2:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

AUGUST 11: Shaheen has been given a failed physical designation by the Texans due to a pre-existing knee condition, and as a result, the trade has been voided (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe). The issue wasn’t serious enough to cost Shaheen any time during training camp, but he will now return to the Dolphins.

AUGUST 9: The Dolphins acquired tight end Adam Shaheen via trade and have now moved on from him in the same manner. Per a team announcement, they have sent Shaheen and a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Texans for a 2023 sixth-rounder. 

The 27-year-old was a second-round pick of the Bears in 2017. Over the course of three seasons in Chicago, he racked up 25 starts out of 55 games played, but never registered more than 12 catches in any one campaign. By sending him to Miami in 2020, the Bears managed to get a seventh-round pick in return instead of cutting him outright, but that deal nevertheless represented a disappointing end to his tenure there.

In his first season with the Dolphins, the Ashland alum set a new career-high in snaps played with 367. He also registered a PFF grade of 66, another personal watermark. That earned him a two-year extension, but he once again played a depth role on offense in 2021. Finding himself on the roster bubble again, Shaheen has now been traded in an almost identical situation to 2020.

The Dolphins have Mike Gesicki at the top of their TE depth chart. He will play on the franchise tag this year, but should be an extension priority next offseason given his production. Behind him, they still roster Durham Smythe, Cethan Carter and 2021 third-rounder Hunter Long.

In Houston, Shaheen will join a rebuilding Texans’ offense short on established pass-catchers. Veteran Pharaoh Brown was recently reported to be the team’s starting TE to begin the season; he, along with recent fifth-rounders Brevin Jordan and Teagan Quitoriano form the competition for snaps and targets Shaheen will now face in a contract year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/22

August 10th, 2022 at 5:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: RB DeAndre Torrey

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Burglary Charge Dropped Against Texans RB Darius Anderson

August 6th, 2022 at 9:20am CST by Ben Levine

After being arrested last month for burglary with intent to commit assault, Texans running back Darius Anderson has been cleared of any wrongdoing. According to Mark Berman of Fox26 (on Twitter), the Harris County District Attorney’s office dismissed charges against Anderson.

According to court records, Anderson’s ex-girlfriend claimed that the athlete forced his way into her home on a July morning and didn’t leave until she locked herself in a bathroom and called police. Anderson allegedly tried to assault the woman once he entered the home, and the player took “some shoes” before leaving. Per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com, security footage ended up proving that Anderson never broke into the home.

“It’s been a nightmare that this young man has been going through,” Anderson’s agent, Harold Lewis, told Wilson. “I hope people get to know him as I do and the Texans do. He’s a great young man. It was a horrible situation. I hope no one ever has to go through that. As bad as it was, there are so many people I would like to thank through this process. I would like to thank Lovie Smith, Nick Caserio and the entire Texans organization for trusting and believing in this young man. The Texans are a family organization and they stand by their players.”

Head coach Lovie Smith told reporters that he’s happy the organization “let it play out in the system.” GM Nick Caserio had previously told reporters that there was a lot of “misinformation” surrounding the case and that he was hoping for a quick resolution.

Anderson scored 18 touchdowns in four seasons at TCU. He had one of his most productive collegiate seasons as a senior in 2019, finishing with 951 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns on 173 touches. He went undrafted during the 2020 draft, and after spending his rookie season with the Cowboys and Colts, Anderson joined the Texans late during the 2021 campaign. He inked a reserve/future contract with the organization back in January. The 24-year-old is facing an uphill battle to make the roster; at best, he was battling with Royce Freeman and Dare Ogunbowale to be the team’s fourth RB.

Texans To Start Pharaoh Brown At TE

August 5th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The Texans did not generate much from their tight end spot last season; Jordan Akins‘ 214 receiving yards led the position group. The team let Akins sign with the Giants in free agency and did not add a notable replacement. Lovie Smith‘s squad is planning to open the season with veteran Pharaoh Brown as the starter here, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com notes. Brown, who re-signed with the Texans this offseason on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, caught 23 passes for just 171 yards last season. The Texans have 2021 fifth-round pick Brevin Jordan and used a fifth-rounder this year on Teagan Quitoriano. Both young players will defer to Brown, a sixth-year presence, to start the season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/22

August 3rd, 2022 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: LS Harrison Elliott
  • Activated from PUP: DB Tristin McCollum
  • Waived-injured: WR Davion Davis

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

*Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (on Twitter), Gono has left the squad due to an undisclosed physical issue. The lineman will meet with a doctor tomorrow, which should provide some clarity.

Texans Sign WR Chester Rogers

August 2nd, 2022 at 8:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

8:25pm: The Texans have indeed signed Rogers to a contract, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). It will be a one-year deal for the receiver.

9:00am: The Texans could be eyeing an addition or two in their receiver room. Houston is working out free agents Willie Snead and Chester Rogers, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Kurt Benkert was the quarterback throwing to the two receivers, Wilson adds (on Twitter). The team is not planning to sign Benkert at this time, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. 

Snead, 29, has been a member of this offseason’s free agent WR class which has, with few exceptions, received little interest even as training camps have opened up. He is coming off of a disappointing 2021 season, in which he totalled four receptions between the Raiders and Panthers. The former UDFA is best known for his time in New Orleans, where he totaled nearly 2,000 yards in three seasons. That was followed by a three-year stint in Baltimore, in which he occupied a secondary role in the team’s low-volume passing attack. Eyeing a more favorable landing spot, the veteran has remained patient while weighing potential free agent destinations.

At 28, Rogers is in a similar position in terms of age and desire for a longer-term NFL home. His best season to date came in 2018 with the Colts, when he registered 53 catches for 485 yards. That led to him being tendered the following year, but a knee fracture ended his final Colts season prematurely. The Grambling State product spent 2020 on the Dolphins’ practice squad, then last season with the Titans. He logged a similar snap share (42%) on offense to his previous campaigns, but logged the largest workload of his career as a returner. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Rogers has received interest from “multiple teams.”

The Texans lacked established wideouts aside from Brandin Cooks heading into this season. The position then received a significant blow when it came out that second-round rookie John Metchie will miss the 2022 season with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. As at least a stop-gap option, then, either of these free agents could take on a notable role in Houston as the team looks to take a step forward on offense, and they aim to rebuild their market value.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/22

August 1st, 2022 at 6:40pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the first minor moves of August:

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from active/PUP list: WR KJ Hamler

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

The Lions’ new running back, Jackson, has found a second home after playing out his rookie contract in Los Angeles. The former seventh-round pick out of Northwestern spent his time with the Chargers backing up starting running back Austin Ekeler, earning a few starts during Ekeler’s more injury-riddled periods. Despite not receiving many touches, Jackson has made the most of each one averaging 5.0 yards per carry during his four-year career in the NFL to total 1,040 rushing yards and four touchdowns, adding 508 yards receiving on 65 receptions. Jackson will compete with Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson for the reserve positions behind the top-two backs, D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.

NFL Injury Updates: Woods, Patrick, Adams, Stingley

July 30th, 2022 at 2:17pm CST by Ely Allen

With Tennessee trading wide receiver A.J. Brown during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft in order to select Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks, the Titans will now look to former Bills and Rams wide receiver Robert Woods to serve as the team’s No. 1 receiving option. This puts lots of pressure on Woods as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in practice last November. 

While Woods was acquired for a sixth-round pick and Burks was acquired with a first (via the Brown-trade), Woods nine years as a starter and veteran experience places him atop the depth chart over the rookie, Burks, for now. Woods had been experiencing a run of the best football of his career over the last four years. Since 2018, Woods has recorded season receiving totals of 1,219 yards, 1,134 yards, and 936 yards, all higher than any totals from his first five years in the league. He also reached six receiving touchdowns twice in that span, setting new career highs there, as well. At a pace of 61.78 receiving yards per game before his injury last year, Woods was set for his third 1,000-yard season in four years, and, with five total touchdowns, was on pace to set a new career high in scoring, as well.

The good news is that Woods has been full-go at Titans camp so far this month, according to Ben Arthur of The Tennessean. Not only is Woods out there taking live reps at practice, but he’s using the off-periods to work with quarterback Ryan Tannehill on timing and chemistry.

“It’s strong enough. It’s repaired. It’s healed,” Woods said in regards to his knee. “So my mentality going out here and practicing is push it and go. You almost want to like push it to the limit and see what you can do and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NFL this preseason, starting with an update out of the Windy City:

  • It appears that Bears center Lucas Patrick will require surgery on his right hand, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The former Packer is expected to start for new Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, as he did during their time together in Green Bay. While surgery will take him out of the lineup for a few weeks, the hope is that, by treating it this early in training camp, Patrick will be able to possibly return before the season opener.
  • While it was originally expected that Seahawks safety Jamal Adams would miss time while dealing with previous hand injuries, further reports reveal that he is expected to return to practice soon, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Adams has been dealing with finger injuries for quite some time and, recently, broke a finger when it got stuck in a helmet during practice. Any surgery that may be required will be pushed to the offseason and, for now, he will return to the field “with a club and a special cast for games.”
  • The Texans’ No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., is attempting to bounce back from nagging injuries that limited him to only 10 games of action in his final two years of college. Houston was impressed enough with his freshman year numbers of six interceptions and 21 passes defensed to make him the first cornerback off the board from an impressive group of defensive backs. They also are hoping his injury woes have ended as head coach Lovie Smith said he expects the 21-year-old to be ready for the regular season opener, according to Mark Berman of Fox Sports.

NFL Workouts: 7/29/22

July 29th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Here’s a list of minor players who visited or worked out for an NFL team today:

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Howard had recently also worked out for the Saints, along with Bo Scarbrough, according to Nick Underhill at New Orleans Football Network. Howard has bounced between Philadelphia and Miami with limited success since averaging 1,123 rushing yards per season and totaling 24 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Bears. Injuries and limited productivity have really hurt Howard’s success over the past three years.

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