Tag: Texans tight end

April fools: 4 areas where the Houston Texans won’t be a joke in 2023

The Houston Texans aren’t done building their roster, but here are four areas where they will not be a joke in 2023.

A cynic would argue the Houston Texans have been pulling a three-year-long April fools joke as a credible NFL franchise.

The Texans traded an All-Pro receiver for peanuts. They alienated their franchise quarterback just months after signing him to a huge extension. They hired the general manager they wanted all along after a PR campaign of high-profile advisors and committees. They have had two one-and-done coaches in their sixties. Houston hasn’t been able to win more than four games the past three seasons.

The DeMeco Ryans era, though two months old, appears to be a departure from the odyssey of the last three years. Here are four areas where the Texans won’t be a joke this season.

Report: Texans sign former Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz

The Houston Texans have signed former Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz to a one-year contract.

The Houston Texans let Jordan Akins get away to the Cleveland Browns, and O.J. Howard had a visit with the Las Vegas Raiders.

With the Texans a week into free agency, they developed a need a tight end, but it appears Houston will plug that hole.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans are signing former Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz to a one-year contract worth $9 million.

Schultz played 75 games for Dallas since 2018, starting in 51 of them. The former 2018 fourth-rounder from Stanford caught 211 passes for 2,122 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The past two seasons were stellar campaigns for Schultz as he won the starting tight end job. Schultz caught 78 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021 and then followed up with 57 catches for 577 yards and five touchdowns.

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Report: Former Texans TE O.J. Howard visiting the Raiders

Former Houston Texans tight end O.J. Howard is visiting with the Las Vegas Raiders.

O.J. Howard is testing the market.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the former Houston Texans tight end is visiting with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Howard signed with the Texans on Sept. 2, 2022, to provide depth following Houston’s finalizing of their 53-man roster. Tight end Antony Auclair was placed on injured reserve, and Howard gave the Texans some flexibility at the position behind second-year Brevin Jordan, rookie Teagan Quitoriano, and Jordan Akins.

Howard caught 10 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in his 13 games with the Texans, 10 of which he started. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2017 first-round pick had two catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, but never exceeded that production throughout the rest of the season.

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Browns sign former Texans tight end Jordan Akins

The Cleveland Browns have signed former Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins, who helped beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18.

The Cleveland Browns have signed the tight end who was responsible for the Houston Texans losing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

The Browns signed Jordan Akins to a two-year contract worth $5.2 million on Friday.

Akins caught a desperation fourth-and-20 pass from quarterback Davis Mills to score a 28-yard touchdown to pull the Texans within one point with 50 seconds to go in Week 18 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Houston beat the Indianapolis Colts when Akins also caught the ensuing two-point conversion to push the Texans ahead 32-31. As a result of the win, and the Chicago Bears losing to the Minnesota Vikings, the Texans weren’t able to secure the top pick in this year’s draft.

The former 2018 third-rounder from Central Florida had a career year with 37 catches for 495 yards and five touchdowns through 15 games, three of which he started. Akins’ efforts made him the first Houston tight end since C.J. Fiedorowicz in 2016 to log 425 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a season.

Then-tight ends coach Ben Berbenich praised Akins on Dec. 29, 2022, for his ability to take over the tight end role despite returning to the team at the end of preseason when Houston was making its roster moves to finalize its 53 and practice squad.

“Jordan has been great since we got him in the building late in training camp. He’s done everything we’ve asked him. He’s given us a spark. When he has the ball in his hands, Jordan can be a special player.”

Akins did not play the first two games of the season, and was eventually signed to the active roster on Oct. 12.

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Breaking down the Texans’ contract with fullback-tight end Andrew Beck

The Houston Texans signed FB-TE Andrew Beck to a two-year contract. Here are the details of the deal.

More details are coming out concerning the Houston Texans’ two-year contract with fullback-tight end Andrew Beck, who previously was with the Denver Broncos from 2019-22.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, Beck’s deal is worth $6.25 million with $4 million guaranteed. The former New England Patriots 2019 undrafted free agent gets a $1.5 million signing bonus with a guaranteed $1.5 million salary in 2023, and then a $2.75 million salary next season with $1 million fully guaranteed.

Beck can earn up to $250,000 per game in active roster bonuses each season, and he has a $250,000 playtime incentive per year.

The 6-3, 255-pound tight end was predominantly used on special teams as he played 809 special teams snaps for Denver compared to 249 snaps on offense. Beck caught 14 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown while also rushing three times for three yards through 51 career games, 10 of which he started.

Texans sign former Broncos FB-TE Andrew Beck

The Houston Texans are signing former Denver Broncos tight end Andrew Beck to a two-year contract.

The Houston Texans are wading their way into the free agency pool.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans are signing former Denver Broncos fullback-tight end Andrew Beck to a two-year contract worth $6.75 million.

Beck caught 14 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown on 23 targets through 51 career games, 10 of which he started for Denver as an undrafted free agent from Texas.

Prior to joining the Broncos, Beck spent the 2019 offseason and preseason with the New England Patriots, but did not make final cuts.

The deal becomes official on March 15 at 3:00 p.m. Central Time when the new league year kicks off.

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Austin Hooper could be veteran option at tight end for Texans

If the Houston Texans are looking for veteran help at tight end, Austin Hooper has to be an option in free agency.

The Houston Texans have a lack of experience at tight end as they head into free agency.

The club has just third-year Brevin Jordan and second-year Teagan Quitoriano under contract. While Mason Shreck may be 29 years old, he has logged 26 career games since 2018 — essentially a season and a half’s worth of games over the past five seasons.

According to Nick Shook from NFL.com, the Texans could add experience to their tight end room by signing former Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans tight end Austin Hooper.

The rebuilding Texans are going to have a tough time convincing big-ticket free agents to come to Houston, even with DeMeco Ryans now in charge. Hooper, however, might be a perfect fit. Hooper was released by the Browns in 2022 as a cap casualty and landed in Tennessee, where he mirrored his Cleveland production while running routes in one of the league’s worst passing offenses. Hooper could at least match those totals in a more prominent role with the Texans, especially if they find a long-term answer at quarterback. Houston has 2022 draft choice Teagan Quitoriano, which could create an obstacle for featuring Hooper, but at 28 years old, he would provide the Texans with a veteran pass-catching option for whichever quarterback Houston proceeds with in 2023. And as we all know, tight ends are often a young quarterback’s best friend.

The Texans ostensibly have such a veteran, albeit not on the roster. Jordan Akins, 30, caught 37 passes for 495 yards and five touchdowns through 15 games, three of which he started. Even though he is a former Texans 2018 third-round pick, he spent the offseason and training camp with the New York Giants. Houston signed Akins to the practice squad early in the season, and he slowly made his way onto the active roster as a viable starting tight end.

Comparatively Hooper caught 44 passes for 441 yards and two touchdowns through 17 games, two of which he started.

New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik comes from the San Francisco 49ers where George Kittle has an established presence at tight end. The Texans may be more content to let something homegrown flourish rather than dip into free agency at the position.

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Texans TE Brevin Jordan questionable to return against the Colts

Houston Texans tight end Brevin Jordan was questionable to return against the Indianapolis Colts with a knee injury in Week 18.

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Houston Texans tight end Brevin Jordan is questionable to return against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18.

The team announced the former 2021 fifth-rounder sustained a knee injury in the second quarter, and his return to the playing field was deemed questionable.

Jordan had not been a target on any of the team’s passing plays in the first half.

The Texans made some adjustments to their tight end corps for Week 18. Rookie Teagan Quitoriano made his return from a thigh injury, which resulted in the Texans listing O.J. Howard to be inactive against the Colts.

Jordan has 14 catches for 128 yards through 11 games and two starts for Houston in 2022, including Week 18.

Texans TE Teagan Quitoriano out against the Titans with knee injury

Houston Texans tight end Teagan Quitoriano is out against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 with a knee injury.

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The Houston Texans are taking on water at their tight end position.

The Texans announced with 1:54 to go in the second quarter that rookie tight end Teagan Quitoriano was questionable to return against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 with a knee injury.

Quitoriano has caught two touchdown passes in 2022. The fifth-rounder from Oregon State has done a decent job of making himself a red zone threat.

The other injury the Texans had in the first half was left guard Tytus Howard, who was placed in concussion protocol.

The Texans led the Titans 10-7 at the time Houston announced Quitoriano was questionable to return to the game.

In the third quarter, the Texans downgraded Quitoriano to out.

TE Teagan Quitoriano feels the ‘football gods’ are against the Texans

Rookie tight end Teagan Quitoriano says no matter how hard they try, it feels like the football gods are against the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans have come close the past two weeks.

They led 20-23 over the Dallas Cowboys but gave up the lead with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Even worse, the Texans had a chance to punch it in from the 3-yard line with 5:27 to go, and would have gone up by 10, but failed.

In Week 15, Houston went toe-to-toe with the Kansas City Chiefs and took them to overtime inside NRG Stadium. The Texans rendered Kansas City’s first drive of overtime scoreless, and had the ball at their own 13-yard line.

Quarterback Davis Mills fumbled on Houston’s first play of the extra period, and the Chiefs scored the very next play with a 26-yard touchdown run from running back Jerick McKinnon.

According to rookie tight end Teagan Quitoriano, it just seems there may be higher powers obstructing the Texans.

“It’s tough,” Quitoriano said via Aaron Wilson of KPRC-TV. “It feels no matter how hard we try, the football gods are against us. But just going to keep coming to work and come back next week hungry.”

Quitoriano was a key part of the Texans’ competitive outing against Kansas City with one catch for an 8-yard touchdown to give Houston a 7-0 lead with 1:04 remaining in the first quarter.

The fifth-rounder from Oregon State believes Houston will be able to take the same competitive spirit displayed over the past two weeks and showcase it against the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Indianapolis Colts to close out the season.

“I think so,” Quitoriano said. “I think we can play with anybody, and we’re going to keep it up with being our best.”