Houston Texans

Dominique Robinson

DE

Robinson injured his calf in Thursday night's preseason game against the Raiders. The depth defensive end will need to recover quickly if he wants to maintain any chance at making the Texans' 53-man roster. With Houston having such a deep defensive line, if Robinson cannot stick to the announced injury timeline, he could find himself out of contention to make the team.

Noah Whittington

RB

Whittington injured his ankle in Thursday night's 22-20 preseason victory over the Raiders. The running back logged nine carries for 11 yards in the contest, adding two kick returns for 44 yards as well. The undrafted free agent out of Oregon will need to recover quickly to continue making his case for a 53-man roster spot.

Wade Woodaz

LB

Woodaz was the hero of Thursday night's 22-20 preseason victory over the Raiders. The fourth-round rookie snagged an 80-yard pick-six against 2026 first overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Woodaz hurt his thumb at some point during the game, but he should return to form shortly as he attempts to win a backup middle-linebacker role in a stacked Texans defense.

Lewis Bond

WR

Bond was targeted only three times, but he participated in 47 percent of the Texans' offensive snaps. The sixth-round rookie had a strong performance in OTAs and appears to be getting a healthy dose of preseason snaps to continue to prove himself. With Jayden Higgins (knee) being placed on season-ending injured reserve, Bond may have a chance to see consistent snaps at wide receiver during the regular season.

Marlin Klein

TE

Klein's second career preseason game was similar to his first, as the tight end accumulated exactly 31 receiving yards again. The second-round rookie was targeted three more times than against the Chargers, catching two more passes. Klein logged 31 total snaps, playing 33 percent of the Texans' offensive snaps as well as 35 percent of the special-teams volume as a blocker.

Ka'imi Fairbairn

PK

Fairbairn's longest field goal came in the second quarter, with the 57-yarder propelling the Texans to a 20-3 lead. The kicker's eight-point night should leave Texans fans confident the 32-year-old still has a strong and consistent leg as the team enters yet another year of AFC title contention.

Jayden Higgins

WR

It officially ends Higgins' 2026 season before it even got started after he suffered a torn ACL in practice earlier this week. It's a huge blow to the Houston offense, as Higgins was fully expected to handle WR2 duties opposite Nico Collins this season. The Texans will now turn to some combination of Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel (hamstring/finger) and Tank Dell (knee), though they've also checked in on available wideouts around the league, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. Higgins will rehab throughout the season and should be ready well ahead of Week 1 of the 2027 campaign.

Nico Collins

WR

QB C.J. Stroud got the start, but Collins, David Montgomery and a few other key veteran were held out. With fellow wideout Jayden Higgins suffering an ACL tear this summer, Collins may see a dominant portion of Houston's downfield passes and red-zone targets. That might've been the case anyway, but target competition looks much weaker with the Texans potentially using a committee to replace their No. 2 receiver. Collins should be busy Week 1 against the Bills.

David Montgomery

RB

The Texans went with a mixed crew of starters and backups to open their second preseason game. It's probably a good sign for Montgomery's Week 1 role that he was among the players rested, though second-string RB Woody Marks took advantage of the opportunity with a 20-yard TD scamper on which he broke two tackles. Montgomery still figures to get the start and most of the carries in a Week 1 home game against Buffalo.

Collin Wright

CB

Xavier Hutchinson

WR

Both of Hutchinson's targets came from starting QB C.J. Stroud on the opening drive. Hutchinson is probably the favorite to get the second-most snaps among Houston's wide receivers in the regular season behind Nico Collins following Jayden Higgins' season-ending ACL tear, but Jaylin Noel (hamstring) and Tank Dell (knee) both have more upside as pass catchers. Houston's coaching staff values Hutchinson's blocking and dependability, but he has exceeded 42 receiving yards only twice in 49 regular-season games.

Woody Marks

RB

All of Marks' production came on a busy opening drive for the second-year running back, which he capped off with a 20-yard touchdown run. Once the games start to count, Marks is likely to share the backfield workload with David Montgomery, who didn't appear in Thursday's exhibition game. Montgomery is the favorite to handle most of the early-down work, while Marks could see most of his opportunities in passing situations. During Marks' rookie regular season, the 2025 fourth-round pick had three receiving touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

C.J. Stroud

QB

Stroud got the start in Houston's second preseason game after sitting out the opener. He played only one possession but led a touchdown drive, which was capped by a 20-yard Woody Marks touchdown run. Despite some struggles down the stretch last season, Stroud retains his role as the starting quarterback for a Texans offense that will be without second-year wide receiver Jayden Higgins (knee) in 2026.

Jaylin Noel

WR

Higgins had been slated to serve as the Texans' No. 2 WR behind top option Nico Collins, but in his looming absence, snaps and targets that would have gone his way are up for grabs. Per Bien-Aime, Noel hasn't practiced much throughout training camp as he's dealt with a finger issue and hamstring tightness, while Tank Dell is being eased back in following a knee injury that cost him the entire 2025 campaign. Also in the mix behind Collins is Xavier Hutchinson, but once Noel moves fully past his injury issues, he'll have a chance to claim a role in his team's offense out of the gate this season.

Josh Pitsenberger

RB

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Ja'Marcus Ingram

CB

questionable

Brevin Jordan

TE

questionable

Jawhar Jordan

RB

questionable

Graham Mertz

QB

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British Brooks

RB

questionable

Jamal Hill

LB

Kyonte Hamilton

DT

Bryce Hall

CB

The cornerback spent the entire 2025 season on Tampa Bay's practice squad. Hall last started an NFL regular-season game in 2023 with the Jets.

Tank Dell

WR

Dell didn't play in Friday's preseason game against the Chargers, which comes as no surprise because he's been limited to individual drills after missing the entire 2025 campaign following a December 2024 play in which he dislocated his left kneecap while also tearing the ACL and MCL in that knee. The Texans' next exhibition is Thursday versus the Raiders, and Houston opens the regular season Sunday, Sept. 13 against the Bills.

Louis Hansen

TE

Hansen's signing is likely to add tight end depth after Brevin Jordan (knee) suffered an injury during last Friday's training camp session. Hansen likely will get a few reps in the remaining preseason games before cut-down day. The tight end's first chance to make an impact will be Thursday's contest against the Raiders.