Houston Texans add Shalom Luani to bolster their practice squad

The Houston Texans signed safety Shalom Luani to their ten-man practice squad.

The Houston Texans announced the addition of safety Shalom Luani as the tenth man in their practice squad. Defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes was promoted before Week 13 against the New England Patriots, and it created an open spot on the Texans practice squad moving forward.

Luani is joining his third team in the league since getting selected by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He appeared in all 16 games in his rookie season in Oakland before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks for the start of the 2018 season in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round draft pick. He finished his short stint with the Raiders with 16 tackles and two passes defended.

Luani moved in and out of the active roster as he spent some time in the Seahawks practice squad before being waived towards the conclusion of the 2019 preseason. The former Washington State safety appeared in 12 games for the Seahawks and had nine tackles in his second season in the league.

The Los Angeles Chargers signed Luani to their practice squad but was promoted to play in three games in this regular season before ultimately getting waived once more.

The Texans are adding Luani to their practice squad after reportedly bringing him in for a private workout, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Luani has ties to Texans’ current special teams’ coach, Brad Seely, who was the Raiders’ special team coach in his rookie season in Oakland.