Tag: Texans 2024 roster

Texans vs. Jaguars: Jacksonville TE Evan Engram likely out Sunday

While the Houston Texans might be without Tank Dell, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be without their star tight end.

The Houston Texans might be without star receiver Tank Dell Sunday at home, but the Jacksonville Jaguars will also be down a key offensive weapon.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson all but ruled out Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram for Sunday’s matchup at NRG Stadium. When asked out his status Friday morning, Pederson listed Engram as “doubtful.”

The former first-round pick suffered a strained hamstring during warmups before the team’s home opener against the Cleveland Browns. Engram didn’t play last week in a 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.

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“With a hamstring like that, they’re finicky; let’s call it that,” Pederson told reporters. “It’ll be a long shot.”

While Engram’s departure hurts the Jaguars, Dell’s potential absence stings for Houston’s passing game. The former third-round pick out of the University of Houston suffered a rib injury in Week 3’s loss at Minnesota and hasn’t practiced all week in preparation for Sunday’s showdown.
“We’re confident the guys we have that are going to step up,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said Thursday. “If Tank can’t go, it’s not really going to make anybody blink. It’s just next man up.”
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Last year as Houston’s No. 2 target, Dell caught 47 balls for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games before he broke his left fibula against the Denver Broncos in early December.
Albeit a slow start, he was coming off his best performance Sunday with a season-high five catches for 62 yards. Dell also factored into the run game, recording a pair of reverse handoffs for 17 and 18 yards against the Colts and Bears, respectively.

Where are the Texans in the waiver wire order?

The Houston Texans could bring in a name or two on the waiver wire, but they’ll be waiting to land a top talent given their selection spot.

The Houston Texans trimmed their roster to 53 players on Tuesday, and it’s almost time for them to start building their 16-player practice squad and potentially make some changes to their roster.

While the Texans released a slew of players, so did the rest of the NFL, which means there multiple premier targets on the waiver wire that might have Houston’s interest, especially in areas like defensive tackle and cornerback

But teams can’t just go out and sign whoever they want with a big-time check. They’ll need to hope that another team ahead of them in the waiver order doesn’t also want that player. Houston isn’t sitting in the top spot in the waiver wire priority, meaning it’ll have to hope talent falls in its lap.

The waiver claim deadline is Wednesday at 11 a.m. CT.  Those waiver claims will be announced an hour later and then teams can begin filling out their practice squads.

Here’s the order of the waiver priority list, which is identical to the 2024 draft order:

Waiver wire order

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

Click the link below to see the Texans’ initial 53-man roster heading into the 2024 season.

Texans release WR Noah Brown

In the first major surprise of the day, the Houston Texans are moving off of Noah Brown entering Week 1.

Noah Brown’s time in Houston has come to an end.

According to reports, the Texans have released the veteran receiver as they look to trim down the roster from 90 players to 53. Brown, who signed a one-year deal this offseason, was initially expected to be the No. 4 receiver after a breakout 2023 season.

Signed to a one-year deal last offseason following a six-year stay in Dallas, Brown posted career-highs in every metric as Houston went on an improbable run from AFC worst to division champions. In 14 games, the 6-foot receiver caught 33 passes for 567 yards and two touchdowns.

Fans will best remember Brown for his two-week dominance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 9’s comeback win at NRG Stadium, he caught six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.

A week later at Paycor Stadium, Brown finished with a career-best seven receptions for 172 yards, including a 22-yard reception that set up a game-winning field goal for Matt Ammendola.

Given his guaranteed $3 million salary, it seemed as if Brown was a lock to make the active roster, but injuries sidelined him most of training camp. He initially suffered a lower-body injury, then a shoulder injury.

Brown didn’t play in any preseason games, thus allowing both Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie III to break out with the second-team offense. Metchie scored a touchdown in Week 2’s win over the Giants and finished with 100 receiving yards.

Hutchinson, a sixth-round pick out of Iowa State last year, might have been the biggest riser among the targets, hauling in a team-leading 14 catches for 114 yards in four games.

Despite having one of the best statistical seasons of his career,  injuries cost Brown playing time. He missed seven games during the regular season and was placed on the season-ending injured reserve after the wild-card round victory over the Cleveland Browns.

When healthy, Brown’s a stable No. 3 target for any offense. He should land on a team looking for consistent pass-catcher help within the coming days.
As for Houston, it’s a sign that Metchie and Hutchinson will likely be on the active roster for Week 1’s showdown against divisional rival Indianapolis.