Tag: Paul Quessenberry

Texans sign RB Gerrid Doaks, release FB Paul Quessenberry

The Houston Texans released fullback Paul Quessenberry to make room for former Miami Dolphins running back Gerrid Doaks.

The Houston Texans have altered their roster as they prepare to take on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time to kickoff the 2022 regular season.

Houston signed Gerrid Doaks after having a visit with the running back on Sept. 7.

The Miami Dolphins picked Doaks in Round 7 of the 2021 NFL draft from Cincinnati. The 5-11, 228-pound running back spent time on the Dolphins’ practice squad, signed a reserve/future contract with the team at the end of the 2021 campaign, and was waived at the end of the 2022 preseason as the team finalized its 53-man rostser.

To make room for Doaks, the Texans cut fullback Paul Quessenberry, who was part of the Texans’ commitment to utilize the position in offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s run-heavy scheme. However, undrafted rookie Troy Hairston won the job.

Expect the Texans to carry a fullback in 2022

Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith says the team will carry a fullback in the 2022 season.

Fullback may be a dying breed across the NFL, but the position has a preserve with the Houston Texans.

According to coach Lovie Smith, the Texans are expected to carry a fullback on the roster as they deploy offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s system. Houston is placing a big emphasis on the run game, and one of the battering rams for the ground attack is fullback.

“Our offense, we want to be a team that can run the football,” Smith told reporters June 14 after mandatory minicamp at Houston Methodist Training Center. “We’re going to have a fullback on our roster, so, we wanted to establish that.”

The Texans currently have Paul Quessenberry and Andy Janovich on the roster as fullbacks.

Quessenberry played one game for the Texans last year in Week 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Houston had a depleted roster due to many players entering the COVID protocol, and Quessenberry played one offensive snap and 17 special team snaps in the 41-29 victory at NRG Stadium.

Janovich has been in the NFL since 2016 as a sixth-round pick for the Denver Broncos. The former Nebraska product carried 13 times for 51 yards and three touchdowns along with catching 22 passes for 233 yards a score through 50 games with the Broncos from 2016-19. The 6-1, 238-pound fullback played the past two years with the Cleveland Browns, catching five passes for 22 yards and carrying four times for four yards and a score through 27 games.

“You’ve seen our plays that we run,” Smith said. “You can’t get good physical work of course without pads, but the players know now their roles and how we’re going to win football games. That’s what we’ve seen, and I’m excited about what our offense will look like this fall.”

If the Texans are carrying a fullback, it also means other fullbacks across the league may have a home in Houston after the finalization of 53-man rosters at the end of preseason.

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Texans place three players on COVID-19 reserve

The Houston Texans have place three players on the COVID-19 reserve following their 41-29 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16.

The Houston Texans may overcome the challenges COVID-19 placed on their roster in their 41-29 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16, but that didn’t keep the novel coronavirus at bay.

The team announced Monday they have placed three players on the COVID-19 reserve in running back David Johnson, linebacker Neville Hewitt, and fullback Paul Quessenberry, who was elevated from the practice squad for Week 16’s game.

The Texans were dealing with COVID challenges as it came to their roster construction ahead of their contest with the Chargers.

Coach David Culley told reporters Monday morning the he was unaware of any players that would be added, but expressed optimism that some players might have a chance to get out of protocol when they assessed the situation on Wednesday.

“We are still going through the weekly testing,” said Culley. “We’ll have a better idea on Wednesday about who we will get back going forward.”

Texans vs. Jaguars inactives: 4 players out for Houston

The Houston Texans declared just four players inactive for the Week 15 tilt with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Houston Texans announced their inactives ahead of their Week 15 encounter with the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at TIAA Bank Field.

The Texans already ruled out quarterback Deshaun Watson (not injury related), cornerback Jimmy Moreland (illness), and safety Justin Reid (concussion).

The only other player inactive for Houston was fullback Paul Quessenberry.

The Texans have been working through a bevy of players who won’t be available due to COVID-19, including defensive end Jonathan Greenard and cornerback Terrance Mitchell.

For the Jaguars, cornerback Nevin Lawson, running back Carlos Hyde (concussion), offensive lineman Will Richardson, tight end Luke Farrell, defensive end Jordan Smith, and defensive tackle Jay Tufele were declared inactive.

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Tight end may not be as sparse for Texans it may seem

The Houston Texans actually have more tight ends available than what may appear on the active roster.

The Houston Texans are banking on the run game to provide stability for the offense in 2021. That is partially why the team went heavy with five running backs on the active roster.

However, one of the more curious parts of the Texans’ roster is that they are carrying just three tight ends. It is also worth mentioning that among the five running backs the Texans have, none of them are listed as a fullback.

Even though the Texans are heavy at running back and lean at tight end on the active roster, the exceptions with activating practice squad players on game days afford Houston more numbers at tight end than may be readily evident.

One of those practice-squadders Houston may rely on for game days is tight end Antony Auclair.

“Antony is still with us and he’s done a heck of a job for us up to this point and our tight end position has been strong from a depth standpoint and I feel confident that whatever guys we have for us on game day will get the job done and they have done it during the preseason,” coach David Culley said.

The rookie coach is pleased that the NFL is continuing its rules for the practice squad that were put in place in the 2020 season.

Said Culley: “We will have that flexibility and that’s the beauty of how the practice squad is set up in this league that you are able to do that for so many times you can’t do it all year long, you only get to do it so many times but that allows us early to have the flexibility to do that and like I said, Antony along with those other guys that have been hurt we are just going to wait until next week to see where he is at and hopefully he is ready.”

The Texans will have the chance to use Auclair Week 1 when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Sept. 12 at NRG Stadium. Houston also has fullback-tight end Paul Quessenberry on the practice squad.

Houston Texans practice squad tracker: Building the 16-player squad

Follow along with all of the Houston Texans’ transactions as they build their 16-man practice squad to start the 2021 season.

The Houston Texans are building their 16-man practice squad. For the most part, it has been a bunch of players from the original 80-man training camp roster. Here are the players expected to be signed back to the practice squad:

Sept. 1 — FB-TE Paul Quessenberry

Sept. 1 — G Lane Taylor

Sept. 1 — CB Antonio Phillips

Sept. 1 — DE Derek Rivers

Sept. 1 — S Jonathan Owens

Sept. 1 — CB Shyheim Carter

Sept. 1 — WR Chris Moore

Sept. 1 — CB Isaiah Johnson

Sept. 1 — TE Antony Auclair

Sept. 1 — C Ryan McCollum

Sept. 1 — WR Jordan Veasy

Sept. 1 — OT Carson Green

Sept. 1 — QB Jeff Driskel

Will Paul Quessenberry force the Texans to keep a fullback?

Houston Texans fullback Paul Quessenberry is making a compelling case for the team to consider keeping the endangered position alive on the roster.

Fullback is a dying breed in the NFL, but the endangered position may find a preserve on the Houston Texans’ roster.

Tight end Paul Quessenberry has been taking snaps as a fullback in the Texans’ offense. The former Navy Midshipman has caught one pass for three yards throughout the preseason. Quessenberry has tallied 33 snaps on offense and eight snaps on special teams.

Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly told reporters after Wednesday’s practice at Houston Methodist Training Center that Quessenberry has done a decent job of following orders from coaching.

“He’s done a good job being physical,” Kelly said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked. Today, we’re out here and he’s been running different positions. He’s smart, he works his butt off, and we’re pleased with Paul. He’s done a really good job for us.”

Quessenberry’s brother, David Quessenberry, was a former 2013 sixth-round pick for the Texans who beat cancer and played two games for the team from 2013-17.

The Texans last had a true fullback on the roster from 2019-20 when Cullen Gillaspia, a 2019 seventh-round pick from Texas A&M and Katy Taylor High School, played 23 games for the club. Gillaspia was also a key part of special teams.

Quessenbery, an undrafted free agent, does have familiarity with general manager Nick Caserio as he was on and off the New England Patriots’ practice squad last season.

Texans sign former Patriots tight end Paul Quessenberry

The Houston Texans have signed former New England Patriots tight end Paul Quessenberry.

The Houston Texans have are beginning to stash the roster full of guys with New England Patriots ties.

The club signed former Patriots tight end Paul Quessenberry on Wednesday. The agreement will be processed in full when the new league year kicks off in mid-March.

Quessenberry spent time on the Patriots’ practice squad until mid-October when he was released. The Patriots originally signed Quessenberry in August of 2020 after he served five years in the Marine Corps. The 6-2, 250-pound ball player played his college ball for the Navy Midshipmen in Annapolis, Maryland.

The signing is obviously one that has new general manager Nick Caserio’s fingerprints on it as he was the director of player personnel for New England until this January. Quessenberry also helps the Texans add a body at the position that needs some answers as Pharaoh Brown’s contract has expired and former 2019 third-round pick Kahale Warring still has yet to realize his potential.

The new tight end is the brother of former Texans offensive lineman and cancer survivor, David Quessenberry.

Bill Belichick signed a player who hasn’t played in 5 years, because of course he did

Classic Bill Belichick.

Bill Belichick never ceases to surprise, which somehow makes the signing of Paul Quessenberry predictable, in a way.

Quessenberry, a college defensive end at Navy, has been out of the NFL for five years after pursuing a career as a marine. Now that he’s making another attempt earning a roster spot in the league (after failing to get a roster spot with the Houston Texans in 2015), the Patriots have signed Quessenberry — and they’ve also changed his position.

They’re making him a tight end. Typically, the position change goes the other way, with pass-catching disqualifying athletes from skill positions. But alas, we’re talking about Belichick, who always finds a way to do weird things during training camp.

Belichick has a long history of appreciating the military (in general and in terms of college prospects), so he’s probably had an eye on Quessenberry, ever since he was at Navy. Maybe Quessenberry won’t make the 53-man roster, but because the NFL has expanded their practice squad roster to 16 in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Navy product could make spend the season a scout-team player.

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