Texans waive rookie OL La’Darius Henderson before training camp

The Texans made three moves on Wednesday with practice beginning on Thursday morning.

The Houston Texans are making moves at the start of training camp

According to the NFL’s transaction wire, the Texans waived rookie offensive guard La’Darius Henderson on Wednesday with a non-football injury designation. 

Henderson, a member of the 2023 national champion Michigan squad, is expected to undergo surgery, according to KPRC2 Sports. 

Houston also waive-injured undrafted rookie receiver Jaxon Janke and defensive lineman Pheldarius Payne.

In their spots, the Texans officially signed wide receiver Quintez Cephus, offensive guard Chris Reed and defensive end Malik Fisher.

Cephus was reinstated to the NFL in April, one year after being suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL’s gambling policy while in Detroit, along with several other players, including defensive back C.J. Moore and Demetrius Taylor.

During his time with the Lions, Cephus played in 22 games, totaling 37 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns.

Reed played nine games and made one start for the Vikings over the last two seasons. He’s also played for the Colts, Panthers, Dolphins, and Jaguars since going undrafted out of Minnesota State in 2015. 

A standout pass rusher for the D.C. Defenders in the United Football League, Fisher finished second last season among defenders with seven sacks. He also totaled 33 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.

The Texans also placed cornerback D’Angelo Ross, linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips and starting fullback Andrew Beck on the active physically unable to perform list.

Beck wasn’t active during the team’s OTA session last month due to a calf injury. According to reports, he is only expected to miss several practices before returning. 

Another name that could miss ample time is second-year defensive end Dylan Horton. A fourth-round pick out of TCU in the 2023 draft, Horton was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and missed the final two months of the season. 

He is currently in remission but now must train to get back into playing shape after undergoing treatment. He opens training camp on the non-football illness list.