Mitchell, Hargreaves will start at corner
The Texans will start Terrance Mitchell and Vernon Hargreaves at cornerback in Sunday’s season opener against the Jaguars, defensive coordinator Lovie Smith said Thursday, a situation that already was in place before trade talks began between the Texans and Saints for starting cornerback Bradley Roby.
Roby was scheduled to sit out the Jaguars game to complete his six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy, and the Texans had been preparing for Roby’s absence throughout training camp.
Asked about the longterm options at cornerback room this season, Smith demurred.
“First-off, long-term, you don’t think longterm,” Smith said. “Bradley was a good football player for us. He wasn’t playing this week, so our preparation has been without him. So how we’re going to approach it is we have two starting corners in Terrance Mitchell and Vernon Hargreaves. We’re going to tee it up, and we’ll go from there.”
The Texans have six cornerbacks on their active roster. The franchise claimed cornerback Jimmy Moreland and signed Cre’Von LeBlanc to the practice squad. LeBlanc was cut by the Dolphins last week, and Moreland was waived Monday by the Washington Football Team with an injury settlement.
Moreland and LeBlanc just began practicing with the team this week, and Smith said “we haven’t worked with them a lot yet” and the Texans feel “like they can eventually find a role with us.”
“In general, there’s a skill set we’re looking for,” Smith said. “Yeah, you want the guys to be able to run, transition, change directions. I mentioned about wanting to tackle as a corner. We have a profile, and Nick and the rest of our personnel department has done a good job of getting the type of players that we want.”
Roby trade nets third-round pick
The Texans received a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional pick in 2023 from the Saints in exchange for Roby, a person with knowledge of the transaction confirmed Thursday.
The final terms, first reported by ESPN, concluded after the franchises sorted out some financial adjustments for the Saints to fit Roby’s three-year, $31.5 million contract within the Saints’ available salary cap space.
The Texans paid about $7 million of Roby’s base salary this season, according to ESPN, and the Saints will pay a remainder of about $1.8 million.
Adding Slye excites Ross
Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross said newly signed kicker Joey Slye can be a steady, touchback-forcing option while playing in relief of the injured Ka’imi Fairbairn for at least the next three games.
“Excited to work with Joey,” Ross said Thursday. “He’s been great as far as his professionalism and trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”
Fairbairn officially was placed on the injured list Wednesday with a muscle pull he suffered during warmups before the preseason finale against the Buccaneers. The Texans signed Slye to the practice squad Tuesday, and the third-year NFL veteran will be Houston’s top option in Sunday’s season opener against the Jaguars at NRG Stadium.
Slye spent the last two seasons with the Panthers and was released Aug. 28 after Carolina traded for former Giants kicker Ryan Santoso. The Panthers also tied for second in the NFL with 71 touchbacks last season, and Ross hopes the 5-11, 213-pound Slye can provide the same favorable field position with his powerful leg.
“When you see him in person for the first time, he’s 220 pounds,” Ross said. “He’s built like a linebacker. He was a linebacker growing up. When you look at Carolina the last few years, they were banging touchbacks. He had the ability to do that, so we definitely use that to his strength, depending on the game.”
Fairbairn, a five-year veteran, will continue to recover with what once was thought to be a minor injury.
“You’re not expecting that to happen, rather, at any point for a kicker,” Ross said. “But just an unfortunate deal for Ka’imi. But he’s going to recover. He’s going to be all right, and he’s going to work his way back.”