Tag: Texans tight end

Texans TE Pharaoh Brown returns to practice; questionable against the Browns

Houston Texans tight end Pharaoh Brown returned to practice Friday and is questionable against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

HOUSTON — Houston Texans’ tight end Pharaoh Brown returned to practice on Friday after missing the previous two days.

It was Brown’s first time participating in on-field activities this week due to a ankle and shoulder injury that left him sidelined. His status for Sunday’s game against the 0-1 Cleveland Browns is questionable.

Brown said on Monday that going back to Cleveland — his hometown — is always a “personal” game. In addition to returning to his hometown, Brown is one of several players who played for Cleveland at some point in their careers.

“I want to go out there and I want to dominate them guys,” Brown said when speaking to the media on Monday. “I have a bunch of family, bunch of friends that are Browns fans. So, I hear this stuff all week, and they talk the most, those Cleveland Brown fans, they just talk the most stuff that you can ever believe.”

Brown played a vital role in the Texans’ 37-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. As the starting tight end, Brown notched 67 yards on four receptions in the win.

Texans rookie TE Brevin Jordan is learning the routine of the NFL

Houston Texans rookie tight end Brevin Jordan wasn’t active in Week 1. Pharaoh Brown says that the rookie is learning the routines of the NFL.

One of the more curious personnel decision when the Houston Texans faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 was their tight end utilization.

Despite making the active roster as the third and final tight end, fifth-round rookie Brevin Jordan was inactive for the contest. Instead, the Texans used one of their two standard elevations to bring tight end Antony Auclair from the practice squad to play 33 snaps in the game, almost 42% of the offensive plays.

Tight end Pharaoh Brown says that Jordan is still learning the finer aspects of the game.

“He has one of the biggest challenges in the room, because he has to know potentially every position as far as the tight end spot, because if any of us have a shoelace, he has to come in and fulfill that position,” said Brown. “I think just helping him get into a routine is big, just helping him and showing him. He’s learning from watching us and how we attack the week and how we prepare, and this is just his first NFL week, so I think that’s the biggest thing is just getting in that routine and just learning how to be a pro.”

Brown had a fabulous game with four catches for 67 yards, including a one-handed grab for 29 yards late in the third quarter. His confidence in Jordan remains high.

Said Brown: “He’s a great kid, he’s open-minded and he’s willing to learn. Every guy in our room helps him out, and I think that goes for both him and Paul Quessenberry.”

The Texans depart Saturday for the shores of Lake Erie to take on the Cleveland Browns Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at FirstEnergy Stadium. Another standard elevation of Auclair could provide insight as to how ready the Texans think Jordan is.

Texans TE Pharaoh Brown wants to ‘dominate’ Cleveland

Houston Texans tight end Pharaoh Brown wants to have a convincing performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

Playing against the Cleveland Browns is a personal game for Houston Texans tight end Pharaoh Brown.

The 27-year-old from Cleveland actually used to be a member of the Browns from 2018-20, bouncing up and down off the team’s practice squad and active roster. Through nine career games, he had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.

Houston and Brown visited the Browns last season in Week 10 and had two catches for 25 yards and a score in the Texans’ 10-7 loss at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“Mentally, I think I’m in the same place [as last year],” Brown said. “I want to go out there and I want to dominate them guys.”

A chief reason why he wants to beat Cleveland is due to the fact his family are still big Browns backers, and they have been giving him a hard time this week.

“I have a bunch of family, bunch of friends that are Browns fans,” said Brown. “I’ve been hearing it. I can block out the social media, but I can’t block out the family calls. So, I hear this stuff all week, and they talk the most, those Cleveland Brown fans, they just talk the most stuff that you can ever believe. They think that they have a great team.”

It is also personal because Brown used to be a member of the team until he was cut just before Week 1 in 2020.

Said Brown: “I know all them guys, and they all know that they should be getting ready to strap it up, because I’m coming. They were in training camp with me, I’m coming hard. It ain’t no secret, it’s not bulletin board material for them. The coaches know me, everybody knows me from the owner down, and I’m excited to go back. All I’m saying is we’re coming. We’ll be there Sunday.”

Houston kicks off against Cleveland Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time.

Texans TE Pharaoh Brown reflects on journey ahead of Week 1 start against the Jaguars

Houston Texans tight end Pharaoh Brown will make his first start of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It has been a long road to Week 1.

HOUSTON — Pharaoh Brown has come a long way after he went undrafted in 2017. He signed with the Houston Texans in September of 2020 after an injury to Jordan Akins left the team short at the position. Nearly a year after making his initial debut in Houston, Brown will be the Texans’ starting tight end during their Week 1 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

“This year, I’ve been named the starter, so obviously I’ll be playing a lot more,” Brown said at the end of Friday’s walkthrough practice at Houston Methodist Training Center. “Just taking advantage and doing one play at a time when I’m out there. I just look forward to playing my game. I don’t really think about, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go out there and do something.’ I just go out there and be Pharaoh, and that’ll be enough.”

Despite being named a starter for the Texans this season, Brown doesn’t consider himself as an established player just yet. Perhaps it’s the meek journey to his season opener that keeps Brown grounded and working each day.

Brown accomplished another milestone during the NFL’s cutdown day when he was one of 53 names to crack the Texans’ roster for the 2021 season. It marked the first time in Brown’s career he made the initial 53-man roster. According to Brown, it’s the little victories that make the journey worth it.

Before joining the Texans, Brown spent the 2019 season bouncing back-and-forth between the active and the practice squad roster for the Cleveland Browns. He and Tyrod Taylor — Houston’s starting quarterback for the year —most significant task was to serve as a scout team to help prepare Cleveland’s defense during practice.

Back at their natural position, the Texans will rely upon both Brown’s and Taylor’s offensive attributes in hopes of winning their season opener inside NRG Stadium.

“Tyrod’s a playmaker, he’s been around this league a long time,” he said. “He’s led teams to the playoffs, and I’m just excited that he said he’s going to throw the ball to me. I haven’t gotten a lot of balls in my past, so I’m just happy that he said that.”

In 13 career games with the Texans, Brown has proven that he could be a contributor in the passing game. But his best contribution to Houston’s offense is his run blocking. Last season, Brown recorded a run-blocking grade of 75.5, according to Pro Football Focus.

“In the run game, we have a great offensive line, some great guys that play a lot of great football in their past years,” Brown said. “We have some dogs on the front line. We’ve got some great backs: Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay, David Johnson, Scottie (Phillips), so I think the way that they want to do it, we have the tools to be able to do it and bring it. I know that’s something the Texans haven’t had in the past.”

Brown and the Texans are entering Week 1 of the regular season as -3.5 point underdogs against the Jaguars. It’s the first of 17 games the Texans are entering the game as underdogs, as the general belief feels Houston will tank the season.

As a leader on this team, Brown says he uses the negativity as motivation because the Texans play to win. He says each time his teammates steps onto the field — the Texans will be giving 100% effort to win. It’s an endeavor Houston fans can appreciate when cheering their team to victory throughout the season.

“I’m excited about the opening game — we’ve got fans there,” Brown said. “Last year when I was here, we didn’t have any fans, so just to feel that energy Sunday, I’m looking forward to that. Pretty sure it’ll be a packed house. It’s always good to start off in the division. That’s our way to getting where we want to be at the end of the year, so I’m very excited.

“It’s a new Texans way of football here, and I’m excited to be able to be a part of it and be able to show it on this coming Sunday.”

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.

Texans to cut former 2019 third-round TE Kahale Warring

The Houston Texans have decided to move on from former 2019 third-round tight end Kahale Warring.

The Houston Texans are moving on from another one of the draft picks from the Bill O’Brien era.

According to Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790, the Texans will be cutting former 2019 third-round tight end Kahale Warring.

Warring played four snaps against the Dallas Cowboys in the Texans’ 20-14 win — a game where the Texans sought to get all of their rostered tight ends involved from Jordan Akins, Pharaoh Brown, Ryan Izzo, Antony Auclair, Paul Quessenberry, and fifth-round rookie Brevin Jordan.

Coach David Culley said after the game on Saturday night they would have to “look at the video” to properly comment on how the tight ends played.

“Individually, it’s hard for me to say,” Culley said. “I’ll have to look at the video but I thought they did a nice job. There weren’t any errors or anything that really kept us from being able to do what we needed to do. We just have to look at the video.”

The Texans evidently did, and they determined it would be best to move on from Warring, who has caught three passes for 35 yards on seven targets through seven career games.

WATCH: Texans rookie TE Brevin Jordan showcases catching ability

Houston Texans rookie tight end Brevin Jordan showed off some of his catching prowess at training camp.

Houston Texans rookie tight end Brevin Jordan showed off some of his catching ability Wednesday in practice at Houston Methodist Training Center.

The Texans held their seventh training camp practice in eight days, and the fifth-round tight end from Miami was able to display some of his receiving skills that should make him a viable target down the seam in the 2021 season.

Although it was individual drills and going against air, Jordan, at 6-3, 245 pounds, displayed the quickness to move down the field and the technique to pull the ball in for a clean catch.

According to tight ends coach Andy Bischoff on June 8 in a meeting with reporters, Jordan is a welcomed addition to an otherwise crowded tight end room.

“First of all, a guy that talent-wise a lot of people expected to be off the board,” Bischoff said. “We were elated to get him when we got him. What I can tell you about Brevin is he comes in every day with a smile on his face, he’s smart, he’s a competitive guy, he wants to improve each day. He’s not a guy that needs multiple repetitions to get it right.”

Jordan will get to showcase his talents in a real game on Aug. 14 against the Green Bay Packers.

Houston Texans 2021 player profile: TE Kahale Warring

Houston Texans tight end Kahale Warring has immense pressure to perform in 2021. Can the former 2019 third-round pick acclimate to the NFL?

Kahale Warring is one of five players remaining from the 2019 draft class for the Houston Texans. But unlike his draftmates in Tytus Howard, Lonnie Johnson Jr, Max Scharping and Charles Omenihu, Warring is still trying to find his niche on the Texans despite being selected with the 86th pick in the third round.

Can Warring finally crack the tight end rotation as he enters his third year in the league? A preview of Warring ahead of the 2021 NFL season.

Houston Texans 2021 player profile: TE Pharaoh Brown

Pharaoh Brown provided the Houston Texans with a reliable target in 2020. Can the tight end build on the results in 2021?

After the overhaul that took place following the end of 2020, this season will be a transition year for the Houston Texans. And Pharaoh Brown could be one of several players leading the charge at tight end.

Here is a preview of what Brown can bring to Houston as he prepares for his first full season with the Texans.

Houston Texans 2021 player profile: TE Jordan Akins

Jordan Akins has provided the Houston Texans with a decent run-after-the-option target. In 2021, the tight end may see more targets.

There is a lot at stake for Jordan Akins going into the 2021 season. Amid an attempt to obtain his role as the team’s No. 1 tight end, Akins is entering the final year of his contract and could hit the market as an unrestricted free agent next spring.

Here is a glimpse into why next season could be Akins’ farewell tour as a member of the Houston Texans.