Tavierre

Thomas

Thomas visited with the Buccaneers last week and has now agreed to a one-year deal. The former Texan appeared in nine games last season, missing four games with a broken hand. The veteran corner did not appear in the Texans’ final four regular season games and didn’t appear in either of their two playoff games. Thomas earned a PFF coverage grade of 69.5 last season and allowed 32 receptions for 331 yards and one touchdown on 39 targets.

The Texans will be without several key offensive weapons as Collins, along with quarterback C.J. Stroud (concussion), is slated to miss Sunday’s contest. With Tank Dell already lost for the season, the Texans will rely on the trio of Noah Brown, Robert Woods, and Xavier Hutchinson to move the ball for Houston’s aerial attack, which will be led by Davis Mills. Woods projects to have the safer floor amongst this group of receivers, but it’s Brown who has the higher ceiling. In addition to Collins, the Texans also ruled out EDGE Will Anderson (ankle), OT George Fant (hip) and cornerback Tavierre Thomas (hamstring).

Anderson was banged up in the Texans’ Week 15 loss to the Jets. He starts out the week not practicing with an ankle injury, leaving the Texans’ pass rush without a key producer. If he cannot get some practice in later in the week, the rookie will be in danger of missing Week 15. Other Texans defenders - CB Tavierre Thomas (hamstring) and LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) joined Anderson as non-participants on Wednesday.

Thomas is the Texans’ starting cornerback and played through the game with a soft cast on his hand. He’s expected to undergo surgery on his hand, but will likely miss Week 3’s matchup against the Jaguars. Thomas is seventh on the Texans in defense snaps and has a 90.0 coverage grade per PFF.

Thomas’ deal includes a $1.5 million base salary that is fully guaranteed, along with additional roster bonuses and playing time incentives. Thomas appeared in 10 games last season for the Texans, earning a solid PFF coverage grade of 75.0 on the year. He’s been a solid slot corner for the Texans over the last two years and could be a nice value for the Texans in 2023.

Per PFN’s Aaron Wilson, Thomas is hoping to play this season, so it sounds like a pretty significant quad injury. Thomas operated as the Texans’ nickel corner last season, playing 56% of the snaps while also being heavily involved on special teams.

Thomas is a backup-level slot corner and quality special teamer. That’s been the type of free agents the Texans have been able to recruit through three days of free agency.

The team decided against tendering Thomas, 25, a standout special teams player who would’ve been a restricted free agent. He’ll now hit the open market ahead of free agency’s start on March 17. The Browns have around $20.7 million in cap space.