Houston Texans

Jake Hansen

LB

The linebacker fell to the ground and then had trouble applying weight to his leg, per Wilson. Hansen played mostly on special teams last season and finished with 19 tackles (11 solo) across 15 regular-season games.

Layne Pryor

TE

Pryor missed part of the Texans' OTAs in early June due to a quadriceps injury. The tight end has since recovered from the issue and is a full participant in training camp as he attempts to move up the depth chart and survive cutdown day. The 23-year-old out of Iowa has yet to play in an NFL game.

Azeez Al-Shaair

LB

Al-Shaair underwent thumb surgery in early February after suffering an injury near the end of the 2025 regular season and then playing through it in the postseason. The starting middle linebacker has returned to team activities armed with a new $54 million deal and a clean bill of health.

M.J. Stewart

S

It sounds like Stewart is more week-to-week than day-to-day after he was placed on the active/PUP list to begin camp Tuesday. Stewart inked a one-year, $2.7 million deal to remain with the Texans over the offseason after he recorded 25 tackles (15 solo) across nine regular-season appearances in 2025.

E.J. Speed

LB

Speed suffered a partial tear to his quad while lifting weights back in May and was placed on the active/PUP list Tuesday. By the sounds of it, Speed could open the regular season on reserve/PUP list, which would cost him at least the first four games of 2026. Speed inked a two-year, $10 million deal with Houston over the offseason.

DJ Turner

WR

The 29-year-old wideout spent the previous four seasons with Las Vegas and caught 16 of 30 targets for 158 yards and one touchdown across 32 regular-season appearances during that span. He'll compete for one of the final spots at wide receiver in Houston.

Jaylin Noel

WR

Texans general manager Nick Caserio remarked that Noel could be back in a few weeks, though Wilson has reported that the second-year wideout's injury is short-term. It will be encouraging if Wilson is able to get back on the practice field at training camp sooner rather than later, given the opportunity he faces to secure the No. 3 receiver role behind Nico Collins and Jayden Higgins. As long as Noel remains sidelined, Xavier Hutchinson, Lewis Bond and Justin Watson will benefit from increased reps. The same could be true of Tank Dell (knee), who will begin camp limited to side work but will ramp up to full-team reps.

Tank Dell

WR

Dell's limitations are no surprise, though it is encouraging that he was able to avoid the active/PUP list to kick off camp. Wilson reports that Dell will work on the side during Wednesday's practice and for the early portion of training camp. It remains to be seen when Dell will be cleared for full-team work, but the wideout's recovery from his multi-ligament knee injury continues to look encouraging.

Jamal Hill

LB

Per Wilson, Hill was able to continue training and practicing while wearing a cast, but it's not fully clear whether he'll be ready to suit up come Week 1 of the regular season. Any reps he misses could mean extra attention for offseason trade acquisition Marte Mapu.

Logan Hall

DE

Wilson relays that Hall will ramp up his practice participation over the course of training camp as he looks to get up to game-ready conditioning ahead of Week 1 against the Bills on Sunday, Sept. 13. Hall signed a two-year contract with the Texans in March after spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Buccaneers. The 2022 second-rounder is projected to operate in a rotational role on the Texans' defensive line behind starters Tommy Togiai and Sheldon Rankins.

Marlin Klein

TE

Klein suffered a hamstring injury during the Texans' OTAs, but the second-round draft pick is back and ready to compete for a role in the team's tight end corps. Klein's primary competition for the No. 2 tight end spot is Foster Moreau and Brevin Jordan, but Cade Stover also has NFL playing experience that could give him the edge if the rookie does not sufficiently stand out in training camp or the preseason.

Brevin Jordan

TE

Jordan's run-blocking value and offensive upside make him a likely candidate for the No. 2 tight end spot behind Dalton Schultz. Before the 2021 fifth-round pick tore his patellar tendon, he had accumulated 53 receptions for 532 yards and five touchdowns over 36 career games.

Nico Collins

WR

The wideout has yet to play a full 17-game slate in his NFL career, so the organization's desire to make sure he's 100 percent healthy ahead of Week 1 is somewhat warranted. The 27-year-old Collins has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past three seasons and remains the clear No. 1 option for C.J. Stroud in the passing game.

Davis Mills

QB

Mills has served as the Texans' QB2 for each of the past two seasons, but he started in three games during the 2025 season while Stroud was sidelined due to a concussion. Mills led the Texans to wins in all three of his starts, completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 719 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while turning seven carries into 38 yards and a score in that span. Stroud hasn't had the same kind of production over the past two years as he did in his rookie campaign in 2023, and he committed seven turnovers across Houston's two playoff games. If Stroud has a slow start to the 2026 season, then that could be enough for head coach DeMeco Ryans to turn the keys to the offense over to Mills.

Jawhar Jordan

RB

Jordan flashed genuine juice in his regular-season debut last season, rushing for 101 yards on 15 carries in a Week 15 matchup against the Cardinals. His 50-yard breakaway in that game was the Texans' longest run of the season. The 26-year-old is competing against undrafted rookies Noah Whittington and Josh Pitsenberger, as well as former Colt and Saint Evan Hull, for a roster spot. British Brooks' special-teams acumen also complicates the backfield math, but improvement in Jordan's speed, third-down work and hands make the 2024 sixth-round pick the early favorite for the No. 3 gig.

Xavier Hutchinson

WR

Collins remains Houston's clear-cut top wideout, with Koch having noted last month that Higgins and Noel both logged frequent reps in the first-team offense on the outside and in the slot, respectively. Hutchinson's role in 2026 is thus TDB, with Dell's ongoing recovery from a knee injury a notable moving part in that regard. In 17 regular-season games in 2025, Hutchinson compiled a 35-428-3 line on 57 targets, but steady volume may not be in the cards for the 2023 sixth-rounder out of the gate this season unless injuries hit the Texans' WR corps.

Woody Marks

RB

As a rookie fourth-round pick in 2025, Marks led the Texans in rushing yards (703) but averaged just 3.6 yards per tote. Poor offensive line play was a factor in Marks' inability to churn out big gains on the ground, though Houston appears to have upgraded that group with the signings of veteran guard Wyatt Teller and offensive tackle Braden Smith and the selection of center/guard Keylan Rutledge in the first round of the draft. While the presence of Montgomery will likely limit Marks' touches on early downs, any improvement in his efficiency as a runner to go along with a heightened role on passing downs -- he shined as a pass catcher with a 24-208-3 receiving line as a rookie -- may be enough for Marks to build on his first-year production. The Texans are also looking to take advantage of Marks' shiftiness in space by deploying him on kickoff returns.

David Montgomery

RB

Montgomery is positioned to serve as Houston's lead running back after arriving from Detroit via trade this offseason, and Houston appears prepared to use him in a workhorse role. Barrett praised Montgomery's physical running style, blocking ability and leadership, while emphasizing the veteran's mentality and consistency. With an upgraded offensive line and little proven competition beyond Woody Marks, Montgomery looks poised for a substantial workload, and his skill set could allow the Texans to find greater success in the red zone and in play action, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.

C.J. Stroud

QB

"There was a lot of progress that C.J. and the offense made last year," said Caley, who enters his second year as Houston's offensive coordinator. "We continued to get better from the start of the season to the end of the regular season and just continued to make progress from week to week. So we're going to continue to build on that. It's a new year. C.J. has done a great job out here. Looks good. Locked in." During the 2025 regular season, his third campaign with the Texans, Stroud -- who had his fifth-year contract option picked up in April -- threw for 3,041 yards with 19 TDs and eight picks in 14 games to go along with 48 carries for 209 yards and a rushing score. Looking ahead, he'll look to rebound from a forgettable four-interception outing in his team's divisional-round postseason exit last season, while working with a pass-catching corps that continues to feature WRs Nico Collins and Jayden Higgins, along with TE Dalton Schultz. The Texans also traded for RB David Montgomery this offseason and added TEs Foster Moreau and Marlin Klein with the goal of establishing a more effective ground game to help balance out the team's offense, per Nick Shook of NFL.com.

Dalton Schultz

TE

That said, following the team's mandatory minicamp earlier this month, Koch suggests that at this stage a "fair order" after Schultz could go as follows: Foster Moreau, Brevin Jordan (knee) and Marlin Klein (hamstring). During the 2025 regular season, Schultz set career highs in catches (82) and targets (106) en route to logging 777 receiving yards and three TDs in 17 games. As a dependable chain-mover in Houston's offense for QB C.J. Stroud, Schultz -- who has played a full slate in each of the last two years -- will remain on the fantasy lineup radar in 2026.

Jayden Higgins

WR

The No. 34 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft posted a 41-525-6 receiving line on 68 targets across 17 games as a rookie and appears positioned for a Year 2 leap. Koch reports that Higgins stands as the clear No. 2 receiver on Houston's depth chart ahead of training camp, a role that could benefit from the team's upgraded offensive line and the departure of Christian Kirk to San Francisco. Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel remain in the mix behind Collins and Higgins, while Tank Dell (knee) is expected to return at some point during the 2026 season.

Lewis Bond

WR

Bond was part of the second-team offense during practice sessions and "made plays," per Bien-Aime. Of course, it's still very early in the offseason, but Bond certainly didn't hurt his chances of making the season-opening 53-man roster with his initial impression. Still, Brett Coomer of the Houston Chronicle projects the Boston College product to be on the roster bubble given the Texans' crowded wide-receiver room.

Trent Brown

OT

Brown has recovered from the ankle injury that forced him to miss the Texans' AFC divisional-round loss to the Patriots back in January. The 33-year-old was working with the first-team offense Tuesday, but he's expected to serve as the backup right tackle behind Braden Smith during the regular season.

Justin Watson

WR

Watson suffered a postseason-ending concussion during Houston's wild-card win over Pittsburgh in January, but he's back to full health with minicamp underway. He currently projects for a depth role in a wide receiver corps led by two-time Pro Bowler Nico Collins and 2025 second-rounder Jayden Higgins.

Jaylin Smith

CB

A third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Smith suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 that landed him on injured reserve until returning in Week 8. He then sustained a season-ending torn meniscus in his knee in Week 9. Wilson reports Smith is now 100 percent healthy and has no restrictions this offseason. He'll compete for a role behind starters Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter and slot corner Jalen Pitre.