Houston Texans News & Rumors

2022 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

Along with the head coaches being fired, a few NFL teams are looking for new general managers. Listed below are the GM candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status.

If and when other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 5-24-22 (9:03pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/17/22

Here are today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/22

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Waived: CB Junior Faulk

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: LS Ross Reiter
  • Waived: DB Devin Hafford, QB/WR D’Eriq King

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

  • Claimed (from Broncos): T Drew Himmelman
  • Signed: CB Nijuel Hill, LB Bryce Notree
  • Waived: G Zack Bailey, LB Jordan Kunaszyk

Texans Expect WR John Metchie To Play in 2022

The Texans added to their receiving corps when they selected former Alabama wideout John Metchie in the second round of the draft. Long before his entry into the NFL, though, it was widely known he would miss considerable time in his rookie season. 

Metchie suffered a torn ACL in the SEC title game this past season, hurting not only the Crimson Tide’s offense but his draft stock as well. Fortunately, it came out days before the draft that both he and Alabama teammate Jameson Williams were making good progress in their respective recoveries. Head coach Lovie Smith recently spoke about his current health status.

“We’re in the process of seeing exactly when John would be ready to go” Smith said, via Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network“Eventually, he will be ready to go. There’s a lot that he can do before that. He’s not 100% yet, but in time he will be.”

Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter) that the team will have a clearer picture of his recovery timetable “in a couple weeks”. Overall, optimism is shared by both the Texans and Metchie himself that he will be available at some point in 2022. The latter stated at the draft that he would be fully healthy by July, which would likely represent an unrealistically hopeful best-case scenario. As long as he is able to get on the field at some point in the fall, he will be able to start showcasing the talent which, before the injury, made him a first-round prospect.

Texans Sign First-Rounder Kenyon Green

Several days after agreeing to terms with No. 3 overall pick Derek Stingley Jr., the Texans have signed the second of their two first-round choices in 2022. Per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, Houston has inked No. 15 overall selection Kenyon Green to his rookie deal.

It will be a four-year, $15.9MM pact for Green, all of which is fully-guaranteed. Of course, the contract will also come with a fifth-year option.

Green, a Texas A&M product, was widely seen as the top guard in the draft, and he was indeed the first guard off the board. Said Houston GM Nick Caserio, “[h]e’s been a really productive, consistent player. He played tackle. He played guard. I would say he is probably a better guard than he is a tackle. I think he is probably more of an inside player, but we’ll put him in the mix. Local kid, so I’m sure all of the Texans, fellow Texans, will be happy about that.”

Green was an All-SEC Freshman performer at right guard for the Aggies in 2019, then became the full-time starter at left guard in 2020. As Caserio noted, Green spent time at several positions along the O-line in 2021: two games at right tackle, one game at left tackle, two games at right guard, and seven games at left guard. He presently projects as the Texans’ starting left guard, and his presence should be a boon for second-year QB Davis Mills and new running backs Marlon Mack and Dameon Pierce.

The 6-4, 323-pounder was a finalist for the Lombardi Award in 2021, given to the nation’s top collegiate O-lineman. As one AFC scout told Lance Zierlein of NFL.com before the draft, “[m]ost of his bad reps were when he was playing tackle this year, when guys were hurt. His guard tape is first round for me.”

Contract Notes: Hughes, Walker, Boyle

Here are some details on a deal recently reached in Houston:

  • Jerry Hughes, DT (Texans): Two-year, $10MM. The deal , reported by ESPN’s Field Yates, has a guaranteed amount of $4.5MM comprised of a $2.5MM signing bonus and Hughes’s 2022 base salary of $2MM. The contract has two different per game active bonuses for each year. In 2022, Hughes will receive a per game active bonus of $29,411 for a potential season total of $500,000. In 2023, Hughes will receive a per game active bonus of $58,823 for a potential season total of $1MM.

Here’s an interesting detail in the contract of the 2022 NFL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick:

  • Defensive end Travon Walker‘s first NFL contract currently has a detail that no other rookie contract from this year holds: the deal contains no offset language, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Offset language usually pertains to what will happen to a player’s salary if he should be cut in his first four seasons (the duration of each drafted rookie’s contract). Breer reports that it’s currently the only such deal this year. He also points out that it only occurred with two players from last year’s Draft: Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Jaguars running back Travis Etienne. Jacksonville has clearly started a trend of being uniquely generous to their first-round picks.

Here are some details from a contract recently restructured in Baltimore:

  • Nick Boyle, TE (Ravens): Two-year, $13MM. According to Yates, Boyle agreed to rework his contract, lowering his 2022 salary from $5MM to $1.12MM with a signing bonus of $2.63MM and possible incentives of $1.25MM. His 2023 salary was lowered $1MM with that money being converted to a roster bonus for that year. The deal creates $2.57MM of new cap space for the Ravens to work with.

Texans Sign 12 Undrafted Free Agents

The Texans continue to get younger. The team announced the signing of 12 undrafted free agents:

Green could have a chance to contribute on a shallow tight ends depth chart. After transferring from Minnesota to Houston, Green saw a larger role on offense, hauling in 13 receptions for 157 yards and three touchdowns. He’ll likely compete with rookie fifth-round pick Teagan Quitoriano for reps alongside Brevin Jordan.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/22

Several more mid- and late-round picks agreed to terms on their four-year rookie contracts Friday. Here are the latest agreements:

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

  • LB Malcolm Rodriguez (sixth round, Oklahoma State)
  • LB James Houston (sixth round, Jackson State)

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Texans Reach Agreement With Derek Stingley Jr.

The top cornerback in this past draft is officially joining the Texans. Houston has agreed to terms with Derek Stingley Jr., per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). 

The Texans raised some eyebrows by selecting the LSU alum third overall, making him the first defensive back to be taken off the board. A top-three draft slot wouldn’t have come as a surprise, of course, had he been able to maintain his level of play throughout all three seasons he spent with the Tigers.

Stingley burst onto the scene during his freshman season in 2019. He made 38 tackles, adding six interceptions and 15 pass breakups as a key part of the team’s run to the national title. His performance had him squarely on the first-round radar, but staying on the field became an issue from then on. The six-foot-one, 195-pounder only played 10 games between his sophomore and junior campaigns, failing to record another pick during that span.

That led many to believe he could still be worth a high Day 1 pick, but that Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner would be the first corner to hear his name called. Just before the draft, though, it came out the Texans were seriously considering Stingley at No. 3, as they had him rated above Gardner, the eventual fourth overall selection by the Jets. Risky as the pick has been labelled by some, the team has the potential to reap the rewards if Stingley can stay healthy in the NFL.

Stingley will receive a $22.385MM signing bonus, per Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter). Overall his four-year rookie deal carries a total value of $34.6MM; the team will also, of course, have the fifth-year option available.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/12/22

Thursday has featured several rookie deals finalized. Here are the mid- and late-round draftees to sign their four-year contracts today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • WR Montrell Washington (fifth round, Samford)

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • RB Snoop Conner (fifth round, Ole Miss)
  • CB Gregory Junior (sixth round, Ouachita Baptist)
  • CB Montaric Brown (seventh round, Arkansas)

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans