In need of a fill-in at the kicker spot, the Texans are set to make an addition. Houston has agreed to a deal with Matt Ammendola, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports.
Ka’imi Fairbairn is dealing with a quad injury, one which forced him to exit the Texans’ Week 9 win and could keep him sidelined for a short-term stretch. Tuesday’s move points further to Fairbairn being unavailable for at least one contest, though Ammendola is not immediately joining the team’s active roster. Rather, as Wilson notes, this is a practice squad arrangement.
As Houston continues to evaluate Fairbarin’s status, Ammendola will be available as one of the team’s gameday elevations for Week 10. Players can be temporarily be added to a roster in such a fashion up to three times, so the Texans will have an insurance policy in the form of the 26-year-old for the time being. Ammendola has bounced around the league since his 11-game stint with the Jets in 2021.
The Oklahoma State alum went 13-for-19 on field goal attempts with New York, and he has yet to find a long-time home in large part due to his inability to rebound from that up-and-down start to his career. Ammendola split his time between the Cardinals and Chiefs last season, and his time in Kansas City earned him a Super Bowl ring. During the 2022 preseason, he filled in for an injured Fairbairn in Houston. For his career, Ammendola has made 69.2% of his field goal attempts (18 of 26), along with 86.4% of his extra point kicks (19 of 22).
Those figures contrast greatly with those of Fairbairn, who has proven himself to be a consistent performer during his tenure in Houston. Any missed time from him would threaten the Texans’ kicking game, but a replacement option is now in place in case one is needed.
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