Keaton Sutherland

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.