Texans Fantasy News

DeAndre Hopkins running with the starters
Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 10:21am

Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins has practiced with the first-team offense, which meant he and Andre Johnson were the starting receivers. The veteran and team-captain also believes Hopkins is well on his way to contributing.

“He’s picking up everything pretty well,” Johnson said after Monday’s practice. “He went and made some plays today and that’s a good thing. I think day-by-day, he’ll continue to get better and better.”

Monday, May 20, 2013, 10:21am

Lions WR Ryan Broyles is currently recovering from his second ACL injury in two seasons. Detroit did not draft a receiver early this offseason, which means the Lions must be comfortable with Broyles' progress. He had six receptions for 126 yards against the Houston Texans before sustaining his latest injury. If that is the type of production Broyles can provide consistently when healthy, he can be a solid contributor.

Monday, May 13, 2013, 1:05pm

Last year, there really weren’t any Texans WRs that stood out from the bunch, or distinguished themselves in camp as better than the incumbent Kevin Walter, who knew the playbook.

But just in rookie minicamp, DeAndre Hopkins CLEARLY stood out as someone who looks like he can play grown man football.

Setting the stage: First session of rookie minicamp. In the practice bubble due to bad weather. Poorly thrown ball goes Hopkins way and he snatches it in stride with one hand and heads up field. Huge assembled media almost in unison says, “Whoa, did you see that?”

And then keeps doing it. Highpointing balls that defenders have better position on and snatching out of air. Finding an obvious second gear in going after an overthrown ball. Catching tough balls in traffic. Diving for low thrown balls and getting them. Very natural catching the ball.

So, yes, the rest of the wide receivers at camp looked competent in what they were doing. But so many of the whoa catches came from Hopkins.

Kubiak: DeAndre Hopkins will "help us early"
Monday, May 13, 2013, 10:17am

Texans DeAndre Hopkins looked every bit like a first-round draft pick in the team's recent rookie minicamp. The Clemson wide receiver caught seemingly everything thrown his way, with at least one highlight-reel one-handed grab on all three days of practice. That included Sunday, when he caught a lofted deep ball from Case Keenum down the left sideline with his left hand while his right arm was being held by a defensive back who was on his back as Hopkins made the catch falling to the ground.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak had consistently high praise for Hopkins, the No. 27 overall pick in the 2013 draft. “He’s special,” Kubiak said Sunday. “Ball skills are extremely special. Very long; long arms. Big hands; you saw the catch he made out here today. He’s going to help us early, and we know that, and that’s why we brought him here.”

Thursday, May 2, 2013, 10:38am

In the Texans’ 11-year history, all but two of their first-round draft picks have started on opening day as rookies.

It sounds like wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, the 27th overall pick out of Clemson, has a good chance to continue that trend.

“I’m expecting it right off the get-go,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Monday after being asked how quickly Hopkins might be ready for a big role. “He’s going in there, he’s gonna get the reps. It’s gonna be a very competitive situation, but we took him there because we expect him to play very, very early and touch (the ball).”

“This guy’s on his way to being a pro already, and we’ve got to help him get there real fast.”

“We love this guy,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “He is a guy who we thought could best come into this situation and help us the quickest, and not only quickly but this guy can evolve and develop into quite a player.”

Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 12:17pm

The Browns have signed free agent kicker Shayne Graham, a potential replacement for Phil Dawson.

A 12-year NFL veteran, Graham has made 85.4 percent of his kicks, fifth in league history. Graham played in 16 games for Houston last season, setting a team record for points with 138. He connected on 31 of 38 field goals and set a career high with 28 touchbacks.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 1:54pm

The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms on one-year contracts with a pair of unrestricted free agents, wide receiver Kevin Walter and center/guard Chris Spencer.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 12:41pm

The Ravens continued the rebuilding of their defense today by agreeing to terms on a three-year deal with former Oakland Raiders safety Michael Huff.

Huff, who was released on March 12 as part of the Raiders’ roster purge, started all 16 regular season games in six of his seven seasons with Oakland.

The 30-year-old is expected to immediately start for the Ravens, who lost both starting safeties from last season. Free safety Ed Reed signed with the Houston Texans after 11 seasons in Baltimore, and strong safety Bernard Pollard was released.

Thursday, March 21, 2013, 11:55am

Future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed has agreed to terms with the Texans, ending his Ravens career.

Packers "not desperate" at RB
Friday, March 15, 2013, 12:26pm

The Packers feel good about 5-foot-7 back DuJuan Harris and would be satisfied having him share time with somebody else.

Thompson can't be certain that Harris, Alex Green and James Starks are the answer to an improved running attack, but there's enough there that he's not desperate. There are a couple of other options for bettering the talent.

In free agency, there are a number of backs who have had success in the NFL but come with injury and consistency issues. The good news for Thompson is that he can wait most of them out and sign one for a very reasonable price if he wants.

Among those available are Ahmad Bradshaw, Beanie Wells, Peyton Hillis, Justin Forsett and Turner. Bradshaw is the most talented of the group, but he was released from the Giants in part because he has been injury prone and had off-season foot surgery.

Thursday, March 14, 2013, 10:15am

Chip Kelly was asked about James Casey’s versatility when he brought up an interesting name.

“I think the versatility that you can present to defenses is when you have a certain grouping in the game, there’s not only one thing you can do,” Kelly said. “I think the teams that have been successful doing it, you watch the Patriots line up Aaron Hernandez [6-1, 245] all over the place. Is he going to be a tight end? Is he going to be a receiver? Is he going to be a running back?

“It makes it very difficult for the defense. They don’t know at the beginning of the play where people are going to line up and what they’re going to do. It keeps them on their toes. We want guys that can do that. You really get pigeon-holed when you have one-dimensional players. And when you do, it makes it a little bit easier for the defenses to go out there and understand what’s going to go on in certain formations.”

That was really all Kelly needed to say to explain why he thinks Casey is such a good fit.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 10:02pm

Eagles have agreed to terms with H-Back James Casey, per source.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 2:14pm

Texans released WR Kevin Walter, per league source.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 12:37pm

What was the reason behind Texans QB Matt Schaub’s struggles down the stretch in 2012? Is it possible that an undisclosed injury played a part? The Texans will say adamantly that wasn’t the case. Ditto for Schaub. But for a player as prickly about his injury-prone label as Schaub, coming off a fresh contract extension and with the biggest expectations of his career on his shoulders, it is possible, we hear, that Schaub didn’t want to reveal an injury that might have adversely affected his play, for fear that it would only increase his dubious reputation for always being nicked up. He never even appeared on the injury report last season, despite a number of big shots, including having part of his ear removed by Broncos LB Joe Mays. The one thing we know for sure is that Schaub’s accuracy and effectiveness waned in the final quarter of the season.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013, 12:51pm

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski -- who signed a $54 million six-year contract extension in June -- broke his forearm last season, then injured it again during the Pats' first playoff game against the Texans.

But that didn't stop him from executing a Stone Cold Stunner-esque move on a friend during a playful dance battle at XS nightclub last night.

As Gronkowski was throwing his friend to the ground, the tight end -- who was wearing a protective sleeve on his busted wing -- also crashed to the ground and smacked his damaged arm on the stage in the process.