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Houston Texans News & Rumors

WR Notes: Watson, Metchie, Chark, McLaurin, Smith-Njigba

September 8th, 2023 at 9:45pm CST by Ely Allen

Jordan Love‘s tenure as the Packers‘ full-time starting quarterback will have a bit of a hurdle to navigate this week. In his first start since November 2021, Love will be without the team’s top returning receiver Christian Watson, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

Watson is dealing with a hamstring injury that could potentially lead to an extended absence. Head coach Matt LaFleur claimed that he doesn’t think Watson will reach a three- or four-week absence but classified the second-year wideout as week-to-week.

The top target in Watson’s absence, fellow sophomore receiver Romeo Doubs, is also dealing with a hamstring injury but is only listed as questionable heading into the weekend. Rookie wideout Dontayvion Wicks is the third such receiver on the team dealing with a hamstring injury, but he managed to avoid the injury report altogether. Star tackle David Bakhtiari is also available after staying off the injury report.

Here are a few more reports on wide receiver injuries from around the league heading into Week 1:

  • The world will have to continue to wait for the NFL debut of Texans wide receiver John Metchie III, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. Despite making a recovery from both a torn ACL and leukemia, Metchie is still dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. Houston is being patient, taking a “big-picture approach” to Metchie’s return. The team will be without safety Jimmie Ward and linebacker Blake Cashman for Week 1, as well.
  • The Panthers are slowly working their way back to full health in their receiving corps, according to Panthers writer Augusta Stone. Back ups Terrace Marshall and Ihmir Smith-Marsette are now fully participating in practice after recent injury trouble. Starters Adam Thielen and D.J. Chark Jr. both returned to practice today in a limited capacity. While Thielen was listed as questionable and could still play, Chark has been ruled out for the team’s season opener.
  • The Commanders drew lots of criticism when leading receiver Terry McLaurin sustained an injury as the team played its starters fairly deep into a preseason game in an effort to end the Ravens’ preseason win streak. They’ll dodge a bullet, though, as McLaurin will be active this week after making good progress from his turf toe injury, according to Commanders senior writer Zach Selby. He’s had a couple of full participation practices and should be good to go for Week 1. Defensive end Chase Young has been listed as questionable, though. Head coach Ron Rivera claimed that “if (Young’s) cleared, he’ll go.”
  • Despite undergoing wrist surgery just two and a half weeks ago, Seahawks rookie first round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba is expected to play in the team’s season opener against the Rams this Sunday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Head coach Pete Carroll, who was optimistic on the recovery timeline, confirmed as much this week.

Texans Place RT Tytus Howard On IR

September 6th, 2023 at 5:29pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tytus Howard appeared to be nearing a return to full health which would have allowed him to miss minimal game time. Instead, he will now be shut down for at least the first month of the season.

The Texans announced on Wednesday that their right tackle starter has been placed on injured reserve, a move which guarantees a four-week absence. The news comes as a surprise considering the progress Howard had been making; he was expected to miss the regular season opener, but not much (if any) time beyond that while recovering from surgery on a broken hand.

Howard, 27, underwent the procedure on August 7, and was given a four-to-six week return timetable. That seemed to leave the door open to a potential Week 1 return (or one taking place shortly thereafter), but the team will proceed with caution. The Texans signed Howard to a three-year, $56MM extension not long before the injury, confirming that he will be mainstay on the team’s O-line for the foreseeable future.

That deal was one of many Houston worked out over the course of the offseason aimed at ensuring stability at the tackle spots and boosting the offensive front as a whole. The unit suffered a major blow with 2022 first-round guard Kenyon Green being shut down for the season with a shoulder injury, though. Howard’s absence through September will leave the Texans particularly shorthanded along the O-line.

The team will have an experienced fill-in option, however. George Fant, who was signed in late July, will operate as a starter at the RT spot. Fant signed a one-year deal worth up to $4MM, and he will now have the opportunity to prove his worth over an extended stretch. The 31-year-old has 60 starts to his name, including 36 from his three-year Jets stint which preceded his Texans signing. Fant will join trade acquisition Josh Jones as a backup thrust into first-team duties when Houston begins the campaign in Baltimore on Sunday.

OL Notes: Smith, Texans, Rams, Bears

September 6th, 2023 at 11:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys are going with a “best five” configuration up front, shifting course months after Jerry Jones discussed a plan of keeping Tyler Smith at tackle. Smith is back at guard, but he may not be a lock to start the season on time. The second-year blocker suffered a hamstring strain, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Jones expects Smith to play in Week 1; the 2022 first-round pick did not miss a game last season. Dallas has lost its starting left guard in free agency in each of the past two offseasons, seeing Connor Williams and Connor McGovern defect to the AFC East.

One of the backup options, Josh Ball, is on IR. Ball is battling hip and groin pain, and the Morning News’ Michael Gehlken notes he is expected to miss around two months. A 2021 fourth-rounder, Ball is not expected to need surgery. The Cowboys kept eight O-linemen, with rookies Asim Richards and T.J. Bass joining Chuma Edoga as backups.

Here is the latest from NFL O-lines:

  • Texans right tackle Tytus Howard returned to practice earlier this week, working out with a cast on his injured left hand. While the fifth-year lineman is on the verge of returning, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes George Fant is expected to play in place of Howard in Week 1. Howard, who signed a Texans extension in July, underwent surgery to repair a broken hand in early August. Fant worked as a regular Jets starter — at left and right tackle — throughout the 2020 and ’21 seasons; injuries limited him to seven games last year.
  • Josh Jones filled in for D.J. Humphries as the Cardinals’ left tackle last season, but the recently traded blocker is back at guard. The Texans have Jones in place as their starting left guard going into the season, Wilson tweets. Jones is replacing 2022 first-rounder Kenyon Green, who is on season-ending IR. Jones spent the 2021 season as a primary Cardinals starting guard. The Texans will also be without center Juice Scruggs to start the season; the second-rounder is on short-term IR with a hamstring injury.
  • The Rams gave Joseph Noteboom a three-year, $40MM deal to replace Andrew Whitworth in 2022, but after another season-ending injury, Whitworth’s would-be heir apparent lost his job. The Rams are going with Alaric Jackson at left tackle, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, who adds Noteboom is back at guard (subscription required). Noteboom worked at guard early in his career and was mentioned as a guard option this offseason, but he had played on the outside since becoming Los Angeles’ swing tackle in 2020. The Rams also added Kevin Dotson from the Steelers, and while Dotson has started 30 career games (including 17 last year), Rodrigue adds the team views him as a depth piece. A former UDFA, Jackson started six games last season before becoming one of the many Ram blockers forced off the field due to health issues. Blood clots ended Jackson’s 2022 slate.
  • Previously set to shift back to center, Cody Whitehair is at guard to start his eighth Bears season. Teven Jenkins‘ injury will shift Whitehair to left guard and Lucas Patrick to center, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune notes. Recent trade acquisition Dan Feeney is in place as Chicago’s backup center. Jenkins is on IR to start the season. Whitehair spent the past four seasons at guard but began his career with three slates at center. Patrick has played both guard and center. The 2022 free agency addition was ticketed to start at center last season, but injuries limited the ex-Packer to seven games.

Patriots Looked Into Trade For Texans QB Case Keenum

September 4th, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Patriots made the surprising decision to waive Bailey Zappe, they spent a multi-day period with one active-roster quarterback. With versatile UDFA Malik Cunningham also cut, Mac Jones resided alone on the depth chart until the Matt Corral pickup.

While the Pats have Corral positioned behind Jones (technically), Zappe remains in the mix to be the backup. But the team had also targeted a more experienced option to help mentor its third-year starter. In addition to Colt McCoy being on the Patriots’ radar, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes the team looked into acquiring Case Keenum from the Texans.

The Texans brought Keenum back to Houston, after the ex-Cougars standout embarked on a journeyman career upon leaving his original NFL team in 2015, on a two-year deal worth $6.25MM ($4MM guaranteed). This looked to be a sign GM Nick Caserio, who hired a third coaching staff in three years, would look to move two-year starter Davis Mills. But Mills, despite multiple rounds of trade rumors, remains in Houston as C.J. Stroud‘s backup. Keenum sits as the team’s third-stringer.

A report last week indicated the Texans’ backups were generating trade interest, and with the Pats targeting a veteran and Caserio having spent nearly 20 years with the franchise, the dots certainly connect here.

Keenum, 35, has completed a four-time zone journey by stopping through St. Louis, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Denver, Washington, Cleveland and Buffalo since 2015. While Keenum’s post-Vikings career effectively made his 2017 season — which featured a No. 1 QB DVOA ranking, a 13-3 Vikes record and an NFC championship game berth — an outlier, the former UDFA has remained coveted as a backup. Keenum quarterbacked the Browns to two wins during the 2021 season; those two starts ran his career total to 64.

Once Corral became available, however, Breer adds the Patriots regrouped and scrapped their previous plan of a veteran QB2. Patriots senior personnel advisor Pat Stewart, an offseason hire, was with the Panthers as their VP of player personnel from 2020-22. That tenure included the Panthers’ trade-up with the Patriots for Corral, a raw prospect out of Ole Miss. The Pats had explored Corral via trade as well, per Breer, who adds Bill O’Brien‘s good relationship with Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin also led to the decision to submit the claim.

Three years remain on Corral’s rookie contract; he missed all of last season with a Lisfranc injury. It will be interesting to see if the second-year passer’s form prompts the Patriots to circle back to their interest in a veteran backup before the Halloween trade deadline. After Brian Hoyer went down last season, Bill Belichick stuck with Zappe. But the former record-setting Western Kentucky QB struggled in O’Brien’s offense this year. For now, Zappe represents the most logical Jones backup to start the season. But this situation is clearly not settled entering the year.

Texans Waive DT Roy Lopez

September 4th, 2023 at 3:04pm CST by Adam La Rose

After two seasons as a regular along the Texans’ defensive interior, Roy Lopez is now eligible to find a new home. Houston waived the former sixth-rounder from injured reserve, as noted by KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.

Lopez, who has been dealing with a strained hamstring, negotiated a four-week injury settlement as part of the move which will see him hit the waiver wire on Monday. If he goes unclaimed, he will be free to sign anywhere as a free agent. Wilson adds that the 26-year-old is drawing interest from multiple teams, so he will likely not need to wait long to find a new home.

The Arizona product has logged 29 starts across his 33 appearances in Houston. With snap shares of 46% and 48% during that time, his absence will certainly be noticeable this season on a new-look Texans defense. DeMeco Ryans‘ squad has seen a number of changes take place along the defensive interior, including the arrivals of Sheldon Rankins and Hassan Ridgeway in free agency. Their presence will go a long way in making up for Lopez’s lost playing time.

The latter has recorded similar production in each of his two campaigns to date, totaling 67 tackles (including 11 for loss), two sacks and nine QB pressures. Those numbers has not resulted in high PFF evaluations so far, however, with tackling issues representing a cause for poor overall grades. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how many teams are prepared to put in a waiver claim on Lopez or show interest in adding him via free agency.

Of course, a reunion with the Texans could still be possible, but that would require Lopez remaining on the open market for the course of the four-week period. Houston also moved on from offensive lineman Keaton Sutherland via an injury settlement, after the latter suffered an adductor strain.

Texans Place G Kenyon Green On IR

September 3rd, 2023 at 10:37am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 3: Kenyon Green and the Texans knew as early as May that Green may need surgery, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. It seems as if Houston wanted to see if its young blocker could play through the pain, and as Brandon Scott of Chron.com observes, Green was operating with the first team during the first two games of the preseason despite having his reps carefully managed in OTAs and training camp. Unfortunately, he aggravated the shoulder injury during the preseason finale, and it became clear he would need to be shut down.

“To his credit, he worked through it and I’d say did the best he could with the situation that he was given,” Caserio said. “In the end, we just felt for the betterment of the team and the player, that [surgery] was the best decision.” 

AUGUST 29: Kenyon Green‘s injury will lead the Texans to take a drastic step. They placed the 2022 first-round pick on IR. This move will sideline the young guard for the season.

The Texans traded for Steelers interior O-lineman Kendrick Green earlier today, and they have center Juice Scruggs facing the possibility of a trip to in-season IR. That move would only knock out Scruggs for four games. By putting Kenyon Green on IR now, the Texans will lose him for the year.

This represents a tough blow to Kenyon Green‘s career and to the Texans’ O-line. A shoulder injury is one of multiple issues plaguing the Texas A&M product, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, adding that the second-year lineman will undergo shoulder surgery. Green has already undergone two knee surgeries since joining the Texans.

Although injury trouble hampered Green during his first training camp, the 22-year-old blocker still played in 15 games (14 starts) as a rookie. But the ex-Aggie’s season did not go well. Pro Football Focus graded Green as the worst full-time guard in 2022. This year would have been an opportunity for a quick bounce back for last year’s first guard selected, but Green will have to wait until 2024 to turn his career around.

Chosen 15th overall last year, Green earned consensus All-American honors for his work in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Texans made major investments in their offensive front over the past two offseasons. Following their Green pick, they extended Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard and traded for Shaq Mason. The ex-Patriots and Buccaneers guard — acquired by New England during Nick Caserio‘s time with the team — also signed an extension this offseason.

The Texans then used a second-round pick on Scruggs, but it will be a while before Houston can deploy its preferred O-line. Scruggs’ hamstring strain is expected to keep him out two to four weeks. The Texans have acquired both Kendrick Green and Josh Jones via trade in the past week. Both could be put to work early.

It may be a bit before the team unveils an O-line configuration featuring even three of its starting five. Rehabbing a hand injury, Howard is not viewed as a lock to start the season on time. This run of setbacks comes as the Texans prepare to begin No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud‘s starter run.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/1/23

September 1st, 2023 at 5:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Friday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Washington Commanders

Colts To Sign DE Jacob Martin

August 31st, 2023 at 1:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jacob Martin will bounce to a third team this year. This move will be an intra-AFC South switch. After the Texans released the veteran pass rusher, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes the Colts will sign him.

The Texans showed interest in bringing Martin back after the Tuesday release, per Wilson. A number of teams have re-signed vested vets they released Tuesday, doing so after rearranging their roster — largely via IR moves — following submissions of their initial 53s. But Martin will instead head to Indianapolis.

Indy will be Martin’s fifth NFL destination. Going from the Seahawks to the Texans in the 2019 Jadeveon Clowney trade, Martin then signed a multiyear Jets deal. The Broncos acquired Martin shortly after sending Bradley Chubb to the Dolphins. Weeks after Sean Payton took over as head coach, Denver released Martin, leading him back to Houston.

The Colts did not bring back Yannick Ngakoue this offseason, despite his extensive history with DC Gus Bradley. Ngakoue signed with the Bears earlier this month. Indianapolis did sign Samson Ebukam, who comes over after two years with San Francisco. Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo remain on their respective rookie contracts, and former second-round pick Tyquan Lewis is on the active roster 10 months after suffering a patellar tendon rupture. Lewis re-signed on a one-year, $2.1MM deal in March.

Martin, 27, is coming off a down season that ended with him on the Broncos’ IR list. He finished with 2.5 sacks last season. However, Martin earned a three-year, $13.5MM Jets deal in 2022; this came after his four-sack, two-forced fumble 2021 slate (which also included a safety). Martin profiles as a depth piece for the Colts, who continue to hope their top two 2021 draftees take steps forward.

Texans Place C Juice Scruggs, P Cameron Johnston On IR

August 31st, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans are now guaranteed to start the season without two starting offensive linemen. After suffering a hamstring strain in the preseason, second-round rookie Juice Scruggs landed on IR.

In place as Houston’s starting center, Scruggs will now miss at least four games. He joins Kenyon Green in being moved off the active roster due to injury. Green, the first guard chosen in 2022, is on season-ending IR due to multiple injuries. The Texans also placed punter Cameron Johnston on IR on Thursday. Like Scruggs, Johnston will be shut down for at least a month.

A calf injury will send Johnston to IR. The Texans signed punter Ty Zentner as an insurance option last week. These moves will allow the team to re-sign linebacker Cory Littleton and running back Mike Boone. Zentner resides on Houston’s practice squad, but this Johnston news could soon lead to a promotion. The Eagles signed Zentner as a UDFA in May but waived him earlier this month.

A Scruggs IR stint emerged as a possibility earlier this week, as matters have worsened for Houston’s O-line. The team is not certain to have right tackle Tytus Howard in the lineup. A hand injury has sidelined the recently extended blocker for weeks. Scott Quessenberry, who re-signed after serving as the Texans’ starting center for most of last season, sustained a season-ending injury weeks ago. Houston has since traded for Josh Jones and Kendrick Green, with recent free agency addition George Fant in place as Howard’s RT backup.

Laremy Tunsil and Shaq Mason are the only locks among Houston’s first-team O-linemen to be in uniform in Week 1 against the Ravens. For additional depth purposes, the Texans also brought back interior O-lineman Michael Deiter — a March signee who did not make the team — on a practice squad deal and added recent Bears O-line castoff Dieter Eiselen to their taxi squad.

Johnston has been with the Texans for the past two seasons, coming over after the Eagles waived him. The veteran punter is going into the final season of a three-year, $8MM deal. Philadelphia’s punter from 2018-20, Johnston had previously never missed a game as a pro.

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