HOUSTON – The Texans signed former Los Angeles Chargers tight end Tre’ McKitty in the wake of season-ending injuries suffered by tight ends Brevin Jordan and Dalton Keene.
Jordan and Keene have both been placed on injured reserve. Jordan injured his knee in what coach DeMeco Ryans called a devastating injury. Keene has a leg injury, per a league source.
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McKitty, 26, has 16 career catches for 117 yards in 34 career games with a dozen starts, all with the Chargers. He played collegiately at Florida State and Georgia.
A former Chargers third-round draft pick, McKitty (6-foot-4, 246 pounds, 4.7 speed) was with the Buffalo Bills practice squad in 2023 and then released at the end of the preseason. He signed with the Cleveland Browns practice squad in December, then a reserve-future deal before being waived by Cleveland on June 19.
Jordan, 25, is a former Texans fifth-round draft pick from the University of Miami who tore his anterior cruciate ligament last season and was placed on injured reserve. Now, he’s hurt again after being carted off the practice field Monday in an emotional, somber moment.
Keene tore his anterior cruciate ligament last season and was placed on injured reserve.
Keene, 26, is a former New England Patriots third-round draft pick from Virginia Tech. He played in six games as a rookie.
Jaylen Reed in knee brace
Rookie safety Jaylen Reed watched practice while wearing a knee brace. The sixth-round draft pick from Penn State suffered a mild knee sprain earlier in training camp and is expected to recover from the injury in roughly three weeks, per a league source. Whether that recovery time has him ready to return to play by the start of the season is a fluid situation.
Veteran tight end Irv Smith Jr. returned to practice. He has been dealing with a hand injury, per a league source.
Right tackle Tytus Howard participated fully in practice one day after being rested the majority of the outdoor session.
The Texans practiced inside at NRG Stadium.
Left tackle Cam Robinson (leg) didn’t practice, but appears closer to returning based on his activity and improved mobility.
Working on lineup
The Texans’ offensive line without Robinson: left tackle Aireontae Ersery, left guard Laken Tomlinson, center Jake Andrews, right guard Ed Ingram and Howard.
Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley indicated the team is still figuring out the best five linemen configuration.
“I think we’re working towards that every day,” Caley said. “It’s a good problem to have in the sense that it’s a highly competitive group and they’ve shown progress across the board. [Offensive line/run game coordinator] Cole [Popovich] and [assistant line coach] Zach [Yenser] have done an outstanding job with those guys.
“The players have worked their asses off. It’s a testament to them. We’re going to continue to see who the five most consistent guys are and when we see a clear separation in that, we’ll make a decision on that at the appropriate time.”
At 6-foot-6, 331 pounds, with 5.01 speed in the 40-yard dash, Ersery is a massive. athletic second-round draft pick. While he remains a work in progress in terms of consistency, his ceiling is extremely high. He had a strong debut in a 10-play touchdown drive as a run blocker and pass blocker against the Vikings. The former Big Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year from Minnesota is listed atop the depth chart at right tackle.
“I think he competed, I thought he was tough,” Caley said. “He anchored. He played hard. He finished. We just need to continue to see that and continuing to play with good fundamentals and technique consistently, especially when you get tired.
“You’re starting to try to get callused in these parts of training camp where you’re building stamina as you go, not just physically but competitive stamina, mentally. I think he’s done a good job of that. He loves football and he works. So, we just got to keep going at that trajectory and keep pushing him. He wants to be coached.”
Joint practice with Carolna: ‘No shoving contests or fights’
The Texans are holding a joint practice with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday morning at NRG Park.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made it clear that he expects a spirited, but clean practice devoid of fights and unsafe hitting. It’s the same message from Panthers coach Dave Canales.
The Texans, under Ryans’ direction, have had joint practices before with the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams.
“When you have a joint practice, the main protocol is just keeping each other safe and understanding that we’re here to work together and make each other better,” Ryans said. “We’re not here to get in shoving contests or fights or anything like that. That’s unproductive. My message to Dave and his team is we want to come out and get good work in and make sure we’re getting productive work, making sure we’re staying up just like we practice.
“I think when we got teams and coaches that have a similar mindset, then you can get productive work. We’ve done it for the past two years with the Dolphins, with the Rams and I thought we got really productive work out of that. So, I expect it to be the same.”
Safety position in flux
While veteran starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson continues to recover from a knee injury suffered at The Greenbrier that will cause him to miss time, but not the season, the Texans are making backup plans.
Currently, that means returning starter Calen Bullock primarily lined up next to M.J. Stewart. Jalen Mills, a former Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and New York Jets starter, has worked in with the first-team defense.
Jalen Pitre, a nickel who intercepted five passes in his rookie season as a safety, is another option.
“I could see lots of scenarios,” defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “I think right now we’re just trying to get a lot of guys work in different spots. Some of those injuries are short-term and some are longer-term. We just try to get them ready to play this week and as the season gets closer, we’ll figure out how to deploy our guys best.
“Jalen has had history at a lot of spots as well. Again, another guy that’s played multiple roles for us. I think we just, again, part of what we’re doing in camp is really trying to cross-train a lot of people. Injuries happen, and obviously, we’re always looking ahead to, ‘Hey, if something happens at one spot. How do we fill that in?’ or ‘Who’s the next guy up?’ So, playing lots of scenarios.”
Stewart is primarily a special-teams contributor, but he has a lot of experience. He has also played cornerback in the past.
“Veteran guy, has played a lot of positions throughout his career,” Burke said. “Actually, played outside [corner] in college, played some nickel, played some safety. So, we like guys like that. Just a kid that’s always been on the details of what we’re asking him to do.
“Obviously, he’s had a big role on special teams, so from like a run, hit, tackle, he’s had a lot of experience in open space, doing those things. But he’s been a kid that’s been really working for us and is always kind of in the right spot. So, there’s a lot of value in that for sure.”
Mills has experience in this defense and a background with Burke from the Eagles.
“A lot of us on staff have been with J for a while,” Burke said. “Again, another guy that’s played a lot of positions. He started at corner when I was with him in Philadelphia and then we moved him to safety. He’s played nickel. Again, just another veteran guy, really smart and has always been throughout his career, been a real headsy player around the ball and has spent some time with the Jets last year in a similar system.
“So, was able to really pick things up pretty quickly from a language standpoint. A lot of these guys, once you have a grasp of the communication in the system, the techniques we’re asking you to play, then you can go play ball. So, he’s picked up things really quickly from our history with him together and history in the system and I’m excited to see him go play.”
Poised rookie specialist
Texans rookie long snapper Austin Brinkman displayed poise nd the team had a clean kicking operation in his NFL debut against the Minnesota Vikings.
The undrafted player from West Virginia, a former academic All-Big 12 Conference selection, adapted on the fly when he had to snap for the extra point after Braxton Berrios’ touchdown with a quarterback ball instead of a kicking ball.
“So, nerdy specialist stuff, but super cool for him,” Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross said. “Do you remember what happened on the touchdown from Berrios, they threw a flag. Was there a penalty? They ended up picking it up. So, we put the ball down, we kick it, and we’re good, but they threw in a quarterback ball. We threw in the kicking ball. The ref goes, ‘No, there’s a penalty,’ and throws it back out. His first ever NFL snap and kick on a season was with a QB ball. They are different.
“There’s a whole process that goes into it. So, proud of him. I thought he had a really nice outing. I thought he’s done a good job to this point. He knows that as a rookie snapper, he will be quote, unquote, attacked and they’ll try to challenge him. I thought he did a great job in his first outing. Excited with where he is and we’ll see what he can continue to grow going forward.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com