HOUSTON – Desmond King reacted in a hurry when he saw Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence pitch the football out to running back Travis Etienne on Sunday.
King’s instincts and aggressiveness kicked in as he bolted up to the line of scrimmage to tackle Etienne for no gain, completing a dramatic goal-line stand to keep the Texans from falling further behind to an AFC South division rival.
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The tackle meant a lot to King, who had been signed to the practice squad last week after being out of the NFL for a month after being cut by the Texans in the preseason and then released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“To me, it was an opportunity for me to go out onto the field, I hadn’t been on the field in a while,” King said. “It was just an opportunity I had to make the best of. Thankful for it and thankful to be back in Houston with my brothers. Every time I step on the field I want to attack every play. that was a big play in the game and a big play in my career. Wherever they need me at, that was a goal-line stand. They threw me out there, no practice at it, and I did what I did.”
Days later, King was signed to the Texans’ active roster. And, now, the Texans are considering having him play a lot at nickel this week against the Denver Broncos, according to league sources.
Yes, the jolting tackle made a big impact on his standing on the defense.
“Des did a good job of stepping in for us last week,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Des, just his mindset since he’s been back has been, ‘Whatever you need me to do, coach.’ I love a guy who has that mindset. He’s willing to just help out in any way possible, so we’ll see how can utilize him this week.”
#Texans nickel Desmond King on being promoted to 53-man roster @blaqbadger14 @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/s6rZwpCeof
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 29, 2023
King started 25 of 33 games for the Texans over the previous two seasons, recording 182 tackles and five interceptions,
King has 427 career tackles, 8 1/2 sacks, nine interceptions, seven fumble recoveries, 2,270 return yards and five touchdowns
The Detroit native, back next to his friend, Texans nickel Tavierre Thomas, is embracing the opportunity.
‘Yeah, man, 313,” King said while looking toward Thomas after practice. “Even with him, he knows whenever I go out there, whenever we go out onto the field. we want to continue to push each other and help each other, keep grinding and make each other better.”
The move to promote King coincided with the Texans releasing veteran corner Shaq Griffin.
The move came as something of a surprise considering that Griffin had played well once he became a starter.
Griffin was starting until former first-round draft pick Derek Stingley Jr. was activated from injured reserve. Griffin played sparingly the past few games, playing on special teams while Stingley intercepted two passes. Griffin has started six of 10 games and has 33 tackles and four passes defensed. He intercepted quarterback Joe Burrow in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Texans released Griffin primarily because he was no longer playing on defense, which represented a big change in status for the former third-round draft pick from Central Florida, and they wanted to utilize other players they considered had more value and experience on special teams, according to sources. The decision to release him was made on Tuesday and, after some delay, was communicated to Griffin on Wednesday morning.
Griffin is expected to draw interest from other NFL teams.
“Shaq has competed for us, did a really good job for us,” Ryans said. “Respect Shaq for what he’s done for us. Just as we’ve said, this time, just conversation with Shaq, wanted to give him the opportunity to catch on somewhere else to play.”
Griffin, signed to a one-year, $4.5 million contract by the Texans this offseason after being cut by the Jaguars while still recovering from back surgery, was a 2019 Pro Bowl selection with the Seattle Seahawks who was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars in March after signing a three-year, $44.5 million contract in 2021, Griffin was signed to a deal that included $3 million guaranteed this offseason.
Griffin has 360 career tackles, seven interceptions and 63 passes defensed.
When Griffin got hurt last season in training camp, he only lasted five games and five starts before he was placed on injured reserve. Griffin attempted to play through the injury, but it didn’t last. Ultimately, it took a long time to get healthy. One NFL general manager told KPRC 2 that he wouldn’t have signed Griffin to the contract the Texans did because of the back injury. Texans general manager Nick Caserio took a chance on Griffin as a relatively expensive insurance policy behind Stingley and Nelson.
Griffin is a 6-foot, 198-pound former Seahawks third-round draft pick from Central Florida whose brother, Shaquem, played with him in Seattle.
“Shaq has done a good job for us, obviously from when we brought him in,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said earlier this season. “He’s a veteran corner, he’s played a lot of ball. He’s a physical corner. I would say he’s one of our better tacklers at the edge. I feel good about what he’s done and where his growth has been for us.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
