Houston Texans News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/18/23

This week’s callups and minor moves heading into Sunday:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers:

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Evans had been called up from the practice squad three times by the Cowboys, meaning he needed to be added to the 53-man roster this week to continue suiting up. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports “several teams” attempted to poach the veteran off the taxi squad, but his decision to remain with Dallas has culminated in today’s move. Evans has logged 74 combined defensive and special teams snaps with the Cowboys so far, recording three tackles.

James was out of the lineup for one game after being designated for return, but he will be eligible to suit up for the upcoming Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles. Mentioned as a trade candidate earlier this year, he will be able to add depth to a WR corps which has underperformed to date, and add to his single catch recorded in his two Kansas City games at the start of the campaign.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/17/23

Friday’s only practice squad transactions:

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Kramer returns to Chicago after spending a little over a week in Arizona. The Cardinals had claimed Kramer after he was waived in order to make room for left tackle Braxton Jones on the Bears’ active roster. Arizona waived Kramer on Wednesday, and after clearing waivers, Kramer has found his way back to Chicago.

Farniok should find his way onto someone’s roster. The third-year interior lineman started two games for the Cowboys last year and appeared in 19 games over his first two seasons.

Texans LB Denzel Perryman’s Suspension Reduced On Appeal

NOVEMBER 15: Perryman did, in fact, opt to appeal the three-game suspension he was handed yesterday. According to NFL senior vice president of football & international communications Michael Signora, Perryman’s appeal was successful, and his ban has been reduced from three games to two. The decision was handed down by James Thrash, a hearing officer appointed by joint decision of both the NFL and the NFL Players Association. He will now be eligible to return in time for the Texans’ Week 13 matchup with the Broncos.

NOVEMBER 14: Denzel Perryman drew an unnecessary roughness flag for lowering his head to make a hit during Houston’s Week 10 win. The Texans will be without the veteran linebacker for a short stretch as a result.

Perryman was issued a three-game suspension by the NFL on Tuesday. Sunday’s infraction marked the seventh time he was flagged for a use of helmet foul this season, and the accumulation of such penalties has escalated to a ban. Perryman had been fined over $66K in Week 2 for lowering his head, but today’s news will incur a larger financial penalty.

The 30-year-old has the option to appeal the suspension, a process which could result in the ban being reduced. That ended up being the case for Broncos safety Kareem Jackson earlier this year, as he appealed a four-game suspension for an accumulation of unnecessary roughness penalties. Jackson managed to have his absence reduced to a pair of contests. Perryman will likely look to do the same in the coming days.

After spending his first eight years in the AFC West, Perryman signed a one-year deal in free agency to join the rebuilding Texans. The low-cost deal allowed him to reunite with former Raiders teammate Cory Littleton as a member of Houston’s re-worked front seven, though the latter has bounced on and off the Texans’ roster throughout the year. Perryman has posted 41 tackles in six games while logging a 72% snap share.

Houston will thus be in need of a starting-caliber replacement for however long Perryman is sidelined. Fifth-round rookie Henry To’oTo’o has already established himself as a first-teamer at the LB spot by leading the team in tackles, and Littleton could see usage on defense (as opposed to special teams) with an open spot in the lineup. The Texans – currently ranked eighth in the league against the run – also have the likes of Blake Cashman, Christian Harris and Neville Hewitt available to fill in for Perryman.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/23

Today’s practice squad moves:

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Price was brought in to serve as center depth after an injury to starting center Tyler Biadasz. He ended up losing the backup center job to Brock Hoffman, who has played in nine games and started one of them for the Cowboys this year.

Verrett, a veteran cornerback, has been stuck on the Texans practice squad for just over a month now without making an appearance. Despite following former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to Houston, he reportedly didn’t fit the plan for the team moving forward, mostly due to the fact that he doesn’t play on special teams. This extends Verrett’s NFL absence as he has still not seen regular season action since September of 2021.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/14/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Released: CB Reese Taylor

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: LB Austin Ajiake

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/23

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

JaMycal Hasty was waived by the Jaguars this past weekend following a year-plus with the organization. The running back had 320 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns during his first season in Jacksonville but was limited to only three games and zero touches this year. He’ll be hard pressed to carve out a role in New England with Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott leading the depth chart.

Injured Reserve Return Tracker

After a 2022 rule change, teams can activate up to eight players from injured reserve. That has reintroduced some strategy into how franchises proceed with their activations, and teams will again need to be cognizant of their activation counts in 2023.

The NFL had reintroduced IR-return options in the 2010s, after a period in which an IR move meant a player’s season was over. But the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the league to loosen restrictions on IR from 2020-21. Teams were permitted to use unlimited activations to start the decade, but roster math is again a consideration.

Players who land on IR after cutdown day must miss at least four games. Once a team designates a player for return, the activation clock starts. Clubs have 21 days from a player’s return-to-practice date to activate that player. If no activation commences in that window, the player reverts to season-ending IR.

Here is how the NFL’s remaining two IR situations look for Super Bowl LVIII:

Kansas City Chiefs

Activated:

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 3

San Francisco 49ers

Designated for return:

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 4

Texans To Activate CB Derek Stingley Jr. From IR

1:57pm: With Fairbairn set to miss some time, the team has officially made the decision to place him on IR. He’ll be out for at least four weeks now, so even though Ammendola is only getting called up for tomorrow, a permanent roster move to cover the kicker position is likely soon.

With two new vacancies on the 53-man roster, the Texans have opted to utilize their practice squad to fill one. The team announced that it will be signing practice squad offensive guard Dieter Eiselen to the active roster.

Lastly, joining Fairbairn as a standard gameday elevation will be practice squad tight end Dalton Keene. With Brevin Jordan one of eight inactives heading into Sunday’s trip to Cincinnati, Keene will step in to back up Dalton Schultz and Eric Saubert.

9:45am: It sounds like Derek Stingley Jr. will be in the lineup when the Texans take on the Bengals tomorrow. The team is set to activate the cornerback from injured reserve, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has confirmed the news.

Stingley landed on injured reserve back in September after suffering a hamstring injury during practice. The Texans opened his 21-day activation window earlier this week when the cornerback returned to practice.

While the return to practice was obviously a positive development for Stingley, it sounded like the team was proceeding with caution with the former third-overall pick. Since Stingley had been sidelined for more than a month, the Texans were reportedly going to give the defender as much time as he needed to get into game shape. Apparently, it didn’t take all that long, as Stingley is set to be activated only days after being designated for return.

The LSU product hasn’t necessarily lived up to his third-overall-pick billing, but that’s mostly been thanks to injury. Stingley collected 43 tackles, one interception, and five passes defended to begin his rookie campaign, but a hamstring injury suffered in Week 10 ultimately forced him to miss the rest of the season. He had nine tackles in two starts to begin this season before landing on injured reserve.

To make room on the roster, the Texans have waived offensive lineman Austin Deculus. The 2022 sixth-round pick has seen time in 13 games over the past two seasons for Houston, including seven appearances (one start) this season. He was waived at the end of the preseason before landing on the practice squad, and there’s a good chance he follows a similar path this time around.

The Texans made one additional move as they prepare for Week 10. Per Wilson, the team has promoted kicker Matt Ammendola from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation. Ka’imi Fairbairn is set to miss a handful of weeks while recovering from a strained quadriceps, so Houston will temporarily roll with the journeyman kicker. Ammendola has spent time with six different organizations since going undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2020. He’s seen time in 15 career games, connecting on 18 of his 26 field goal attempts and 19 of his 22 extra point tries.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

Yesterday’s Panthers-Bears game carried signficant draft implications, as many noted in the build-up to the primetime matchup. With Carolina having dealt its 2024 first-round pick to Chicago as part of the deal involving last year’s No. 1 selection, the Bears were able to boost their chances of picking first in April with a win.

Owning the top selection in a draft touted for having multiple high-end options at the quarterback spot would of course add further to the speculation surrounding Justin Fields. The Bears gave the 24-year-old a vote of confidence last spring by trading out of the No. 1 slot, but he has yet to develop as hoped this season. Chicago could opt for a fresh start under center (particularly if they declined Fields’ fifth-year option) this spring while also having the opportunity to add help elsewhere on the roster with their own first-rounder, which seems destined to fall within the top 10 or perhaps even top five selections.

Of course, teams like the Giants, Cardinals and Patriots have experienced signficant troubles of their own this year. A continuation of their first half performances could leave them in pole position for the Caleb WilliamsDrake Maye sweepstakes. All three teams face potential uncertainty with respect to their current passers’ futures, despite each having term remaining on their respective contracts.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. With plenty still to be sorted out over the coming months, here is an early look at the current draft order:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Arizona Cardinals: 1-8
  3. New York Giants: 2-7
  4. New England Patriots: 2-7
  5. Chicago Bears: 3-7
  6. Los Angeles Rams: 3-6
  7. Green Bay Packers: 3-5
  8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-5
  9. Denver Broncos: 3-5
  10. Tennessee Titans: 3-5
  11. Atlanta Falcons: 4-5
  12. Washington Commanders: 4-5
  13. Indianapolis Colts: 4-5
  14. Las Vegas Raiders: 4-5
  15. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  16. New York Jets: 4-4
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 4-4
  18. Buffalo Bills: 5-4
  19. New Orleans Saints: 5-4
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 5-4
  21. Dallas Cowboys: 5-3
  22. Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-3
  23. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  24. Cincinnati Bengals: 5-3
  25. Seattle Seahawks: 5-3
  26. San Francisco 49ers: 5-3
  27. Miami Dolphins: 6-3
  28. Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-2
  29. Detroit Lions: 6-2
  30. Baltimore Ravens: 7-2
  31. Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
  32. Philadelphia Eagles: 8-1

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/8/23

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers