Less than a week after losing wide receiver Jayden Higgins to an ACL tear, the Houston Texans have brought in reinforcements. Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Texans are signing veteran wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Zay Jones.
Josh Reynolds was the only other player known to be in attendance, but no matter how many players worked out, something stood out about Shepard and Jones. With nine receivers now on the roster, the Texans have too many chefs in the kitchen. Who's going to be cut? Who will make an impact? Let's break it down.
What signing Sterling Shepard and Zay Jones means for the Texans wide receivers
There is only one receiver these signings don't affect: Nico Collins. It will affect every other wide out on the roster, however, because Shepard will likely battle for reps in the slot and could become WR3. Xavier Hutchinson will be WR2 for the foreseeable future. Once Jaylin Noel and Tank Dell are healthy, they will likely battle for WR2 and WR3 reps along with Hutchinson and Shepard.
Someone will have to be WR4, which moves everyone else down and begins to make it difficult. Shepard is coming off a 2025 season in which he played 13 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hauling in 39 catches for 371 yards and one touchdown. It was his second season in Tampa Bay after spending the first eight years of his career with the New York Giants.
For the past three seasons, Shepard has played a minimum of 13 games, whereas Jones hasn't played more than 11. The latter is coming off a torn Achilles last season when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. Jones has also had an inconsistent career; he has two seasons with more than 50 catches, but also seven seasons with less than 30. Shepard is much more likely to see consistent targets in Houston.
Jared Wayne could also end up above Jones on the depth chart with the way he's been playing in training camp and preseason. Jones will become the oldest Texans wide receiver, taking the title from Justin Watson. The final wide receiver spots will come down to Jones, Watson and Lewis Bond.
With just one preseason game remaining on August 28 against the Carolina Panthers, the Texans coaching staff will likely need a few more weeks to solidify a majority of the depth chart at wide receiver.
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