After spending some time with the Patriots during training camp, DeAndre Hopkins has found a more permanent job in coaching.
Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Georgia Tech is expected to hire Hopkins as a member of the program’s offensive staff.
After departing New England’s training camp, Hopkins has spent time this week visiting with the team.
George Godsey, Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator, was previously Hopkins’ OC with the Texans from 2015-2016. Godsey was also on last year’s Ravens staff as tight ends coach when Hopkins was with Baltimore.
If this is indeed the end for Hopkins as an NFL player, he’ll finish with 1,006 receptions for 13,295 yards with 85 touchdowns in 195 games over 13 seasons. He had 22 catches for 330 yards with two TDs with the Ravens last year.
Texans Clips
With CBS placing No. 1 NFL analyst Tony Romo on leave following a recent arrest for suspicion of operating while intoxicated, his spot needs to be filled.
CBS has announced that it will be filled by J.J. Watt.
The move will result in further adjustments to the full roster. The slate was already going to change, given that Jason McCourty signed an exclusive deal with ESPN and exited his role as a game analyst at CBS.
Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, normally serves on the No. 2 team at CBS, with Ian Eagles. Watt will work with Jim Nantz until Romo’s leave of absence ends.
It’s unclear when that will happen. Per CBS, Romo will be on leave “until further notice.”
Texans General Manager Nick Caserio told reporters on Wednesday that the team and quarterback C.J. Stroud have had “productive conversations” on a second contract for the young quarterback.
For his part, Stroud said he’s focused on what he can do on the field while his representation handles the negotiation.
“I think everything has been great,” Stroud said in his Wednesday press conference, via transcript from the team. “I’m focused on ball. I’m trying to hold my end of the bargain down on just the football side and do what I can and what I should be doing as the quarterback of this team. I’m letting them handle it, and seems like everything is going great.”
Stroud said he’s not imposing a deadline on when negotiations must end, noting he’s leaving that to his agent.
While there could be some unwanted pressure on a player seeking a new deal, that’s not how Stroud sees it.
“I think pressure is part of my job,” Stroud said. “That’s just something I think is part of the gig and something that I’m not naive to, but I’ve learned you have to keep the main thing the main thing. You have to just focus on one day at a time, one play and the football is what’s gotten me to even have the conversation, to be able to get a second contract. I have to focus on football.”
Stroud feels like if he does that, the contract will take care of itself.
“What I’ve done is what I’ve done on the field and what I will do, we’ll see,” Stroud said. “I think I’ve had some success and I think I’ll continue to have success as a quarterback in this league.
“I’m excited for the future and to pass all the contracts stuff, I love playing football.”
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, is under contract through 2027 after the Texans exercised his fifth-year option in the spring.
In his 46 career games, Stroud has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 10,876 yards with 62 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Last season, Stroud completed 64.5 percent of his throws for 3,041 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight picks in 14 games.
In his NFL career, Texans defensive end Will Anderson has only missed games due to injuries twice: In 2023, when he suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Jets on the turf at MetLife Stadium, and in 2024, when he suffered another high-ankle sprain against the Jets on the turf at MetLife Stadium. He doesn’t think that’s a coincidence.
Asked about the use of real grass in the World Cup, both at MetLife and at the Texans’ NRG Stadium, Anderson said it’s the superior playing surface.
“Yes, most definitely. I would most definitely say grass. Grass 100 percent,” Anderson said. “I think it’s just the natural feel of grass, your feet not getting stuck in the ground like in turf. I had two high ankle sprains up in MetLife because of the turf. I think grass is just a better option.”
Still, Anderson said he hasn’t talked to the Texans about using a grass field in Houston for NFL games.
“Not really. At the end of the day, it’s up to them. They’ll figure it out. You just control what you can control. Go out there and play and do your job,” Anderson said.
The two times in his career that Anderson couldn’t do his job, artificial turf was the reason.
The Texans have a new wide receiver on their roster.
The team announced that they have signed DJ Turner on Wednesday. They waived rookie tight end Louis Hansen in a corresponding move.
Turner spent the last four seasons with the Raiders. He appeared in 32 games for Las Vegas and finished his run with the team with 16 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. He also saw action as a returner and on other special teams units.
Houston placed wide receiver Jaylin Noel on the non-football injury list on Tuesday. Tank Dell avoided any injury list and is set to practice after missing all of last season while recovering from a 2024 knee injury.
The Texans picked up the fifth-year option on quarterback C.J. Stroud’s rookie contract this offseason, which means he’s with the team through 2027. Whether a long-term deal gets done remains to be seen.
Texans General Manager Nick Caserio said today that Stroud has had a good offseason and the team has been in contact with him about a potential extension, but nothing has happened on that front yet.
“He’s had a really good offseason,” Caserio said of Stroud. “Probably the best offseason he’s had since he’s been here. He’s had a good attitude, he’s been consistent, he has a good mindset. I’d say we’ve definitely had productive conversations over the course of the spring, so there’s a possibility that something could come to fruition. We’ll work through it and see what happens.”
The Texans used the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft on Stroud, and he rewarded them by winning Rookie of the Year that season, and leading them to the divisional round of the playoffs in all three of his seasons as their starting quarterback. But Stroud’s disappointing performance in last season’s playoffs has raised questions about whether he’s the quarterback to take the Texans to the Super Bowl. And until the Texans sign Stroud to a big second contract, it’s fair to wonder whether the Texans believe he’s going to be their franchise quarterback for years to come.
Wide receiver Tank Dell said in June that he felt he’d be ready to go at the start of training camp and it appears the Texans agree with his assessment of his health.
Dell was not one of the players that the team placed on their physically unable to perform list on Tuesday. Dell missed all of last season after suffering a severe knee injury in December 2024 and was able to do limited work during the team’s offseason program.
Dell had 98 catches for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons.
Linebacker E.J. Speed and safety M.J. Stewart have been placed on the PUP list. Speed tore his quad this offseason and could miss the entire season.
The Texans also placed wide receiver Jaylin Noel on the non-football injury list.
Free agent defensive lineman Denico Autry is expected to retire, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.
Autry, 36, has not announced his intention yet.
He became a free agent in March after his contract with the Texans expired.
Autry entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and played 12 seasons, four with the Raiders, three with the Colts, three with the Titans and two with the Texans.
In his career, Autry totaled 331 tackles, 65.5 sacks, 117 quarterback hits, 35 passes defensed and eight forced fumbles.
Texans wide receiver Nico Collins was not a full participant in the team’s offseason program, but he says there is no injury concern as the team moves toward training camp.
Collins took limited reps in OTAs and at the team’s mandatory minicamp, which caught some attention because the wideout has yet to play a full season in the NFL. In an interview with Aaron Wilson of KPRC, however, Collins said that he wasn’t dealing with an injury and the workload was part of a plan to make sure he is all systems go for the more significant work this summer.
“Not at all,” Collins said. “They did that. Listened to the coaches, listened to the GM, saying ‘Yes sir.’ And they told me to be ready for camp.”
Collins and the Texans agreed to a revised contract in May that bumped up his salaries for the next two seasons. That makes it all the more important that Collins is at his best when it matters the most and provides further explanation for why the team didn’t want to push anything in the offseason.
The Texans have wrapped up their 2026 draft class.
According to the league’s daily transaction wire, Houston signed fourth-round pick Febechi Nwaiwu to his rookie contract on Thursday.
Nwaiwu was the club’s last unsigned pick from this year’s draft.
A guard out of Oklahoma, Nwaiwu was selected with the No. 106 overall pick. He played his first three collegiate seasons at North Texas before transferring to play for the Sooners in 2024. He was a second-team All-SEC honoree in 2025.
Houston’s rookies will report to training camp on July 21, with veterans reporting on July 28.
