The Texans are wrapping up the pre-draft visit period by meeting with defensive tackle Kenneth Grant.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports that the former Michigan star is in Houston for a meeting with the team on Wednesday.
Grant played a key role on the Michigan defensive line during their national title run in 2023 and he was voted a third-team All-American during his final season with the Wolverines. Grant was also second-team All-Big Ten in each of the last two years.
Grant had 61 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, an interception and three forced fumbles for Michigan over the last two seasons.
The Texans have a need on their offensive line, and they’re visiting today with a player who could make sense as their first-round draft pick.
Ohio State offensive lineman Donovan Jackson is visiting Houston today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Jackson could play either guard or tackle in the NFL. Jackson’s current betting odds are +190 to go in the first round, so it would be a mild surprise if he hears his name called on the first night of the draft, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Houston to take him.
The Texans have the 25th overall pick and the odds say they are likely to take an offensive lineman in the first round, with the odds currently at -260 that the Texans take an offensive lineman. Jackson could be their guy.
The Texans have locked up another member of their secondary.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that safety Jalen Pitre has agreed to a contract extension with the team. It is a three-year, $39 million deal with over $29 million in guarantees.
The Texans signed cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. to an extension earlier this year. Stingley was a first-round pick in 2022 and Pitre joined the Texans as a second-rounder.
Pitre has started all 46 regular season and playoff games he’s played since entering the league. That includes 12 starts last season before a torn pectoral sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Pitre has 296 tackles, six interceptions, 21 passes defensed, a sack, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries as a member of the Texans.
The Bengals are doubling up on visits with Ohio State running backs this week.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Quinshon Judkins is set to meet with the team on Wednesday. A report on Monday indicated that TreVeyon Henderson will visit with the team this week as well.
Judkins also visited with the Texans on Monday and he’s set to meet with the Broncos later in the week.
Judkins transferred from Ole Miss to Ohio State and joined Henderson as a 1,000-yard rusher. He had 194 carries for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns with the Buckeyes and ran for 31 touchdowns during his first two college seasons.
The Texans wanted Stefon Diggs back for 2025.
He had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns, putting him on pace for 100 catches and 1,000 yards before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in an Oct. 27 game against the Colts. Diggs ended up signing with the Patriots for more money than the Texans were willing to offer.
“It was a pleasure working with Stefon,” Ryans said last week. “He’s one of the best competitors I’ve been around. He brought a ton of great energy to practice. He’s a worker. He loves to work. Being a veteran guy, he showed up every day playing hard in practice and showing up in the games. You could count on him on third downs, especially in those critical moments.”
The Texans replaced Diggs by trading with the Jaguars for Christian Kirk, who is coming off an abdominal injury that ended his 2024 season. Kirk played only eight games and had career lows in catches (27), yards (379) and touchdowns (one).
It was the first time in seven seasons he hadn’t played at least 12 games.
“I love Christian,” Ryans said. “His speed is the one thing that jumps out about him. He’s a fast player. He’s made a lot of nice plays in the slot, running the deep routes in the slot or it’s the option routes of winning on third down. So, I’m excited to see what he brings on third down. I think he can really open up a lot of options for us on third down, especially from the inside position,” Ryans said. “I think he’ll be a friendly target for C.J. [Stroud]”
Ryans went on to call Kirk “an explosive playmaker.”
Kirk will join Nico Collins as a top option for Stroud with Tank Dell expected to miss the season after injuring his knee late last season against the Chiefs.
“I’m excited to work with [Kirk]. He’s about the work,” Ryans said. “He’s excited to come in and compete and help us reach our goals.”
Former William & Mary offensive tackle Charles Grant is set for a busy week.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Grant will have a top-30 visit with the Titans on Monday.
He is also set to meet with the Ravens, Eagles, and Bengals soon. Last week, Grant visited the Texans.
Grant appeared in 50 games for William & Mary in his collegiate career. He was a two-time first-team FCS All-American, earning the distinction in 2023 and 2024. He was also selected to participate in the 2025 Senior Bowl.
The age of widespread legalized ticket reselling has not unfolded without a few potholes. Or lawsuits.
Via Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, a group of 19 ticket brokers has sued the Texans over changes to the team’s season-ticket policies.
The brokers have owned personal seat licenses with the Texans since the founding of the team. They claim that, after the 2023 season, the Texans raised the prices on season tickets issued to the brokers and restricted the number of tickets they could purchase.
The Texans apparently are hoping to enhance their home-field advantage. As noted by Alexander, last year’s Sunday night home game featured thousands of Lions fans, roughly one third of the crowd. At one point, chanting from the Lions fans forced the Texans to commit a false start.
“This outrageous and unacceptable behavior doesn’t just harm the Plaintiffs — it harms hundreds of thousands of Texans’ fans, and every sports fan in Texas who wants to attend an NFL game at NRG Stadium,’’ attorney Josh Bowlin, who represents the plaintiffs, said in a press release.
“We were recently made aware of a lawsuit filed by certain ticket resellers,” the Texans said in a statement. “We believe these allegations are meritless and look forward to addressing them appropriately.”
The case comes in the aftermath of the Packers terminating season-ticket rights for those who have sold all of their tickets for multiple years.
The difference in this situation is the existence of a PSL. The PSL agreement possibly has specific terms and conditions that would arguably prevent the Texans from treating one set of PSL holders differently than others, or some arbitrarily changing the rules regarding the purchase and resale of tickets.
Especially if the brokers purchased their PSLs in 2002, long before the modern reselling market emerged.
Free agent quarterback Case Keenum has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $3 million with the Bears, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Keenum will help mentor Caleb Williams in Chicago as he did for C.J. Stroud in Houston.
Tyson Bagent and Austin Reed are the other quarterbacks on the roster behind Williams.
Keenum, who was with the Texans the past two seasons, spent all of last season on injured reserve after injuring his foot in a preseason game against the Rams.
Keenum, 37, has played for seven teams in 12 seasons, with the Bears his eighth team in 13 seasons. He has 66 starts, going 30-36 with 15,175 passing yards, 79 touchdowns and 51 interceptions.
The Texans have Davis Mills as Stroud’s backup, with Kedon Slovis also on the roster.
The Eagles made the Super Bowl with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the lineup in 2022 and they won it after bringing him back in 2024, but those results didn’t stop the team from trading Gardner-Johnson to the Texans this month.
General Manager Howie Roseman had his first chance to discuss the trade, which included a pick swap and sent guard Kenyon Green to Philly, when he spoke to reporters at the league meetings on Monday. Roseman said that Gardner-Johnson did a great job for the team, but that he had to look at the number of young starters that are on the roster and coming up on new contracts when making decisions about retaining veterans.
“Every dollar that you spend is a dollar less that you can spend on some of these younger players that maybe you want to retain,” Roseman said, via Dave Zangaro of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “Getting out in front of it was important to us. And again, hard decisions. Not asking anyone to agree with them but that’s part of our job.”
Roseman’s success in the draft is a big reason why the Eagles are the current Super Bowl champions, but it comes with a price and it comes with making the kind of tough calls that lead to the departures of good players because of what’s coming down the road.
The Texans allowed 54 sacks in the regular season and another 11 in two playoff games. It was at least part of the reason for C.J. Stroud’s regression in his second season.
So, the Texans raised eyebrows this offseason when they traded their best offensive lineman, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, to the Commanders.
Albert Breer of The MMQB cited a “borderline toxic” Texans’ offensive line room for the team’s changes that also included trading Kenyon Green and releasing Shaq Mason.
On Monday, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans denied the room had become toxic.
“I think our guys in that room, they competed; they battled,” Ryans said Monday, via video from Aaron Wilson of KPRC. “It didn’t always go how we wanted it to go, but there was nothing toxic in the room. Those guys showed up to work every day. Those guys were a tight group. They went out to dinners throughout the weeks. I don’t know where that report came from, but it’s very incorrect. There’s nothing in our building. That’s nothing I stand for. As a head coach of the team, we bring in the right people. We bring in good guys, and all those guys are great guys.”
The Texans signed Cam Robinson in free agency to replace Tunsil, who they got four draft picks for, including a third-rounder in 2025.
“Trading Laremy is really tough. There’s nothing easy about that, because Laremy is such a great player,” Ryans said. “You put the tape on on Sunday, he’s arguably one of the best one-on-one pass protectors in the NFL, so it’s hard to lose a player of his caliber. But also at the same time, it was a trade we felt was beneficial to both parties. We were able to get quality draft picks out of the trade and send Laremy to a really good team as well. So, I think we both benefited from the trade, but it’s going to be hard to replace him.”
