Houston

Texans

Per Wilson, the Texans view him as a versatile receiver and plan to deploy him at multiple spots this year. Per PFF, Higgins ran 79.2 percent of his routes from the perimeter and 20.4 percent from the slot. If Higgins can secure the WR2 role and gain frequent slot usage from 11 personnel, that would go a long way toward reliable fantasy productivity. In addition to improving his fitness, Higgins has focused on the game’s “intellectual” aspect as well this offseason. Wilson adds that Higgins has been a standout among the receivers thus far and has “shown upgraded timing and chemistry” with QB C.J. Stroud. He has a chance to return value as a WR3 or better this season, though there are a lot of potential mouths to feed in Houston with Tank Dell and David Montgomery joining on.

Per NBC Sports Houston’s Aaron Wilson, the rookie wide receiver has now cleared waivers and is a free agent. Walthall struggled to produce in his three seasons at Hawaii before breaking out after transferring to Incarnate Word in 2024. He fared well at the NFL Scouting Combine and could get a chance to make a final roster elsewhere.

Klein’s hamstring injury is not expected to be a long-term issue. The athletic second-round rookie caught 37 passes for 351 yards and one touchdown over his final two college seasons. The Texans have a decent group of backup tight ends, though many of the veterans have fairly extensive injury histories. Klein may have a chance to earn the TE2 role this season.

Although these are non-contract drills, this is still great to see. As of late May, Dell was still working off to the side of practice with trainers. The Texans will go on a short break after today, before returning for mandatory minicamp, which is scheduled for June 9-11. Hopefully, Dell either maintains or increases his participation next week.

The deal is worth $19.276 million and includes a $10.479 million signing bonus. Rutledge was viewed as an athletic, interior mauler in the pre-draft process. NBC Sports Houston’s Aaron Wilson describes Rutledge as “a quick study,” and adds that the Texans are excited about Rutledge’s versatility.

Further testing on an earlier reported partially torn quadriceps pushed Speed’s return timeline from three months to the entire regular season. Houston will ask more of Henry To’oTo’o in the final year of his rookie contract, and will perhaps consider signing a veteran stopgap. Speed is under contract for 2027, though there’s no guarantee the Texans will keep him as they can save $2.25 million against the cap by releasing him.

Earlier this month, NBC Sports Houston’s Aaron Wilson reported that Dell is “doing well,” and has been running and cutting, but is not yet 100 percent healthy. Today, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans refrained from updating Dell’s expected recovery timeline, saying, “when that time is set for him to be back, he’ll be back.”

Jordan is participating in some capacity. Per Ryans, Jordan “had a really big play yesterday on a choice route.” Jordan, 25, has played just two games in each of the last two seasons, having torn an ACL in September 2024 and another in August 2025. If he can remain healthy, Jordan will compete for a backup role this season.

Regarding Higgins’ on-field development, Ryans is “really excited to see how he’s going to look this season.” Ryans covered all the bases here. It’s always nice to hear that a player worked hard to prepare for organized team activities, but physical improvements are only half the battle. Hopefully, positive reports on Higgins’ route running and film studies are soon to follow.

The new deal guarantees his contract for the next two seasons while also adding an additional $9 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027. The contract will still expire entering the 2028 season, with the veteran alpha also recently stating that he would like to play the entirety of his career in Houston. Agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus negotiated the amendment and are likely to get back to the negotiating table entering the 2027 season.