Houston Texans Bring Back Linebacker Jackson Woodard To Their Practice Squad

The Houston Texans have brought back former UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard and signed him to their practice squad. The team had released him on Tuesday when they had to make final cuts to get their roster down to 53 players. He wasn't overly productive in the preseason, but did flash some things that could bode well for his NFL future, including holding his own in coverage on multiple plays.

Woodard is widely viewed as one of the greatest defenders in UNLV history and is coming off the greatest defensive season in the program's history. He has been lauded for his leadership and performance both on and off the field, and it resulted in him being named the 2024 Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Despite his incredible play while in Las Vegas, the offseason didn't go quite like he had hoped.

Ultimately, he was overlooked in the 2025 NFL Draft and was not selected as many expected he would be. The oversight was chalked up to a lack of athleticism at the NFL level. Despite that, it was widely expected that his instincts, fundamentals, and play-making ability he put on field would be enough to make him a late round pick. Unfortunately, that's not how it played out, but that wasn't the end of his story.

Not long after the conclusion of the draft, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks. It was considered one of the better UDFA signings in the league by many. Then, in a shocking turn of events, he was cut by the Seahawks before he even completed rookie minicamp. However, once again, he was quickly scooped up. This time by the Texans. He ended up spending the rest of the summer in Houston for the entirety of training camp and the preseason. While they did end up releasing him this week, they clearly saw the potential in the former Rebels star because they wanted to keep him in-house and develop him on their practice squad.

Now, he will remain on the Texans practice squad unless they call him up to their main roster or decide to release him. Any other team can also sign him to their 53-man roster from Houston's practice squad, but can not be signed from their practice squad to another. We expect to see him back on an NFL field at some point in the future. There is no doubt he's going to put in the work to be the best that he can be, like he always did at UNLV.