With a little over a week until the Houston Texans return for training camp, the front office is still making moves to the roster.
According to NFL reporter and Texans insider Aaron Wilson, the team will be re-signing defensive end Jerry Hughes, who spent the last two seasons with the team.
Following the addition of Hughes, the Texans now have all of the spots filled on the initial 90-man roster going into training camp.
The Texans put in extensive work on the defensive line this offseason and it was only a matter of time until the veteran returned to the unit. Along with Hughes, the Texans front office has also added Danielle Hunter, Denico Autry, Derek Barnett, Mario Edwards, Tim Settle, and Folorunso Fatukasi this offseason to create arguably the strongest front in the entire division.
"I want as much depth as possible on our defensive line," head coach DeMeco Ryans said earlier this offseason. "When you can get guys like Denico, Danielle and Tim – veteran guys who've played a lot of football and have made a lot of plays -- they know what it looks like. It's easy for those guys to come into our system and transition very quickly. Having those guys around has helped everyone because they understand our style of play. They understand how we see the D-line play and how important it is, not only to our defense but to our entire team."
Hughes will be coming back to Houston for his 15th NFL season and has recorded 12 sacks over the last two seasons with the team. With all the veteran additions, the Texans defensive front looks to be a strong group on paper led by Hunter and reigning defensive rookie of the year Will Anderson Jr.
"With Danielle and Will, I think they instantly have this connection that you need for both of those ends," Ryans said. "[They are] playing off of each other, picking off of each other's brain. Danielle is a veteran in the league. He has done it for a while, so Will being able to lean on him for advice on how he has seen it done. I think that is very important. I like the connection that they have had, they are working well together, and it is great to see both of them collapse in the pocket and finishing on the quarterback."
Having a stable of experienced, veteran, pass rushers behind those two impact players will be a hidden luxury for the team going into the 2024 season. Just last season the Texans had 46 sacks, which set a single-season franchise record. A number that will surely be broken once again with the level of talent on defense.
Hughes will slide back into the same rotational role he played in 2023, where he appeared in all 17 regular season games and recorded 3.0 sacks for the Texans. It was a great move to make at this point in the offseason and now Texans fans can turn their attention back to a more improbable addition to the defensive line.
