HOUSTON – The Texans are signing veteran running back Marlon Mack and several other players to their practice squad, according to a league source.
- Scroll down for updates on players who have also been updated to the practice squad.
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Mack was released Tuesday.
Mack was outperformed by impressive fourth-round rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who’s expected to be the Texans’ primary running back.
A former 1,000-yard rusher with the Indianapolis Colts who tried to resurrect his career with the Texans, Mack showed occasional flashes of his old explosive form during the preseason. He also displayed some hesitation at times.
He was limited to 32 carries, and 127 yards over the past two years due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the first game of the 2020 season,
After rushing for a combined 1,999 yards and 17 touchdowns across 2018 and 2019, Mack made a full recovery by last year. By then, though, he was behind Jonathan Taylor, a gifted All-Pro runner who rushed for an NFL-high 1,811 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Mack requested a trade, but nothing materialized. As a free agent, he signed a one-year, $2 million contract that included a $250,000 signing bonus to join the Texans.
Texans sign offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi
The Texans signed offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to their practice squad after cutting him from the 53-man roster.
Ogbuehi is a former Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick from Texas A&M. He played for Texans offensive line coach George Warhop previously with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bengals declined the fifth-year option on Ogbuehi and he came a free agent in 2019.
Ogbuehi has also played for the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans.
He has played in 60 games with 57 career starts.
Source: Texans sign wide receiver Drew Estrada to practice squad
The Texans have signed wide receiver Drew Estrada to the practice squad, per a league source.
Estrada (6-foot, 196 pounds) is a Dartmouth transfer who caught 30 passes for 367 yards last season. He had six catches for 33 yards and one touchdown in the Big 12 championship game.
At Dartmouth, he had 2,392 career all-purpose yards and was a second-team All-Ivy League selection as a wide receiver and return specialist.
Texans are signing veteran tight end Mason Schreck to the practice squad, per a league source
Mason Schreck caught a touchdown pass in a preseason victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Schreck has played in 23 career games with one start for the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s a former seventh-round draft pick from the University of Buffalo.
Schreck (6-foot-5, 252 pounds) is an Ohio native and a former high school quarterback. He played in one game last season for the Bengals.
The Texans signed safety Grayland Arnold to their practice squad, per a league source
Grayland Arnold had a sack in the preseason on a blitz against the Rams. Arnold had a strong preseason and is a candidate to be claimed off waivers. The former Baylor standout has made steady improvement over the past year.
Texans signed center Jimmy Morrissey to their practice squad, per a league source
The former Las Vegas Raiders seventh-round draft pick played in five games with four starts for the Texans when veteran center Justin Britt was sidelined.
A former Pitt walk-on and Burlsworth Trophy award winner, Morrissey was signed off of the Raiders’ practice squad to the Texans’ active roster.
Morrissey received the Burlsworth Trophy that goes to the most outstanding college football player who began their career as a walk-on. A 6-foot-4, 305-pounder who was an All-Catholic League and All-City selection in Philadelphia, Morrissey chose to be a preferred walk-on at Pitt over scholarship offers from Lehigh, Bucknell and Colgate. He earned a scholarship after enrolling at Pitt.
Texans sign Jordan Steckler to practice squad
The Texans signed offensive lineman Jordan Steckler to their practice squad, per his agent, Brett Tessler.
Source: Texans sign DB Tristin McCollum to their practice squad
The Texans signed former Sam Houston State safety Tristin McCollum to their practice squad, per a league source.
McCollum signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent.
McCollum (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) has outstanding size and range.
Source: Texans sign Kevin Pierre-Louis to practice squad
The Texans are signing veteran linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis to their practice squad, according to a league source.
In the offseason, the Texans reduced his salary in a restructured deal to $2.4 million with $1.2 million of it guaranteed.
Pierre-Louis was originally due $3.5 million under a two-year, $8 million contract.
Pierre-Louis was limited to eight games and one start due to a positive test for the coronavirus in addition to a hamstring injury that forced him to be placed on injured reserve. He had 10 tackles last season.
Pierre-Louis played in 13 games two seasons ago for the Washington Football Team and recorded 56 tackles, one sack, a forced fumble and two passes defensed.
Source: Texans sign Jordan Akins to practice squad
The Texans are signing veteran tight end Jordan Akins to their practice squad, per a league source.
He was cut by the New York Giants.
A former third-round draft pick from Central Florida, Akins had 24 receptions for 214 yards on 33 targets in 13 games and three starts last season for the Texans.
Akins has 114 career receptions for 1,260 yards and three touchdowns. Two seasons ago, Akins caught 37 passes for 403 yards and one touchdown.
Texans expected to sign Jacobi Francis to practice squad
The Texans are expected to sign undrafted rookie cornerback Jacobi Francis to their practice squad.
Francis was signed by the Texans after playing collegiately at Memphis.
The Texans are re-signing veteran quarterback Jeff Driskel to their practice squad, per a league source.
Driskel had two clutch touchdown passes during the preseason and the team likes his athleticism. He’s a former Denver Broncos starter who was with the team last year and briefly was moved to tight end and broke his collarbone on special teams against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Source: Texans expected to re-sign Jalen Camp, Johnny Johnson III to practice squad
The Texans are expected to sign wide receivers Jalen Camp and Johnny Johnson III to the practice squad, per league sources.
Camp caught a touchdown pass against the New Orleans Saints and honored rookie wide receiver John Metchie III with a celebration reminiscent of his crane kick pose he would do after touchdowns at Alabama.
Johnson caught a touchdown against the Saints, too.
He’s a former undrafted free agent from Oregon.
Texans signing Demone Harris
The Texans are signing veteran defensive end Demone Harris to their practice squad following a strong preseason as a pass rusher and run-stopper, per a league source.
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and a contributor to KRPC 2 and click2houston.com.