Team chooses Amendola’s experience, production
When the Texans cut slot receiver Anthony Miller in favor of Danny Amendola on Wednesday, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said it came down to experience and productivity.
Amendola, a 13-year veteran, signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal Sept. 7 to replace Miller, who, at the time, was still recovering from a shoulder dislocation sustained in the Aug. 14 preseason opener against Green Bay.
Amendola caught four passes for 30 yards and a touchdown in a 37-21 win over the Jaguars. The performance kept Miller sidelined Sept. 19 against the Browns despite his practicing all week.
Amendola suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of the Browns’ game. Miller started in losses to the Panthers and Bills, and, despite recording five catches for 23 yards and a touchdown, the Texans waived Miller once Amendola recovered.
“We’ve got a seasoned vet, somebody who’s produced at a high level, who’s been in the offense for quite a while,” Kelly said Thursday. “It felt like we’ve got a player that plays identical positions, and we felt better with Danny at that point in time.”
Texans coach David Culley said the team’s roster rigidity forced Miller out. The run-oriented offense regularly deploys personnel packages that favor carrying more running backs and tight ends than wide receivers, and the Texans would have faced a weekly decision on whether to activate Miller or Amendola.
“It’s the same position,” Culley said. “With the way we are and the way we’re structured offensively, there’s only room for one of those guys in that position.”
Still, there was indeed room on the roster to retain Miller. Hours after the transaction, the Texans announced they’d signed free-agent wide receiver Davion Davis to their active roster. Davis (5foot-11, 195 pounds) fits the same size profile as Miller (5-11, 199) and Amendola (5-11, 185).
Davis, 24, practiced for the first time Wednesday. The former Brown was suspended for the first two games of the 2021 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He was a dynamic playmaker for Sam Houston State, where, as a junior in 2017, he was named first-team FCS All-American and Southland Conference Player of the Year. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Vikings in 2019, played in two games, then was waived before the 2020 season.
Pierre-Louis may return Sunday
Now that linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis has returned to practice after missing the season’s first four games with a thigh injury, defensive coordinator Lovie Smith said “we’re anxious to get him into the mix” on defense and special teams.
Smith said “we’ll see” if Pierre-Louis is ready to go for Sunday’s game against the Patriots, and, if he
indeed plays, the Texans would have to shift their roster around to accommodate him.
Pierre-Louis, an eightyear NFL veteran, was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday. Players who’ve been designated to return from IR can practice with their teams for up to three weeks while still not counting toward the 53-man roster limit so long as they don’t play in a game.
If Pierre-Louis is activated
Sunday, the Texans would be one player over the limit, which would force general manager Nick Caserio to move another player to reduce the roster back to 53 players.
The return of PierreLouis creates an interesting decision for the Texans within the linebacker room, because Kamu Grugier-Hill, who signed a one-year deal in March, has increasingly impressed in the three games he’s played.
Grugier-Hill is tied for the team lead with four tackles for loss and has displayed a knack for disrupting opposing backfields. He has twice started in place of Zach Cunningham, who sat out the first quarter against the Browns on Sept. 19 because of disciplinary reasons and missed Sunday’s loss to the Bills after being placed on the team’s COVID/reserve list Friday.
Caserio signed PierreLouis to a two-year, $8 million deal in March to be Houston’s third linebacker alongside Cunningham and Christian Kirksey when the season began, but Smith indicated GrugierHill’s performance has warranted more playing time.
“When he’s got an opportunity to play he has impressed us,” Smith said Thursday. “He’s played a couple of positions. He has started Sam, he’s started at Will, he can play both. He’s a big contributor on special teams. I like his flexibility. He’ll continue to get reps and maybe even more reps on third downs. But I like everything that he has done.”