The Houston Texans are facing the final stretch of the regular season. On Sunday, they face the Las Vegas Raiders in a crucial game that the Texans need to win to continue breathing down the Jacksonville Jaguars’ neck for the AFC South title.
With a 9-5 record, the Texans must win against the Raiders and hope the Broncos defeat the Jaguars to dispute the division title. However, this is not an easy task considering the latest injury news.
Tim Settle Jr. and Mario Edwards Jr., two key pieces in the defensive scheme, suffered serious injuries that will keep them out for the remainder of the season.
For that reason, the Houston Texans signed a familiar face to add some necessary depth to this position.
The Texans signed Marcus Harris to the practice squad
Although this signing may seem contradictory, it makes sense when you consider that you can never be short on players at the defensive tackle position. Given the physical role, and with two key departures already recorded, Marcus Harris arrives to support the two fundamental leaders: Sheldon Rankins and Tommy Togiai.
As of today, Harris has yet to record a snap in the NFL. Since being drafted by the Texans as a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the former Kansas Jayhawks DT couldn’t get past the offseason or earn a practice squad tag.
After being cut from the Texans roster, Marcus Harris spent time with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, but things didn’t go as he had hoped. On both teams, Harris was released before Week 1 due to roster cuts.
It’s well known that the Texans regularly promote practice squad players, and given their current lack of depth at defensive tackle, Harris is likely to get his opportunity.
The defensive tackle spent the 2024 offseason with the Houston Texans. This comes in handy because there is no need for him to learn a completely new system or for coaches to have to explain everything from scratch.
Even though he hasn’t played a single official NFL game yet, Harris could become a gem in the rough that could help the Texans more than fans could account for.