Texans Add Former Cardinals LB to Practice Squad

Thomas was in the building for a workout on Tuesday leading up to the Texans' Week 14 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it seemingly didn't take too long for Houston to come to terms on a deal to bring him aboard the practice squad roster.

Texans Add LB Xavier Thomas to Practice Squad

Thomas was a fifth-round pick at 138th overall to the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL Draft, where he would spend the 2024 season, as well as part of the 2025 season .

Before hitting the NFL, Thomas was a six-year player at Clemson, appearing in 61 rwgular season games throughout his college career, even being a part of their National Championship roster in 2018. He collected 121 tackles and 17.5 sacks through those six years with the Tigers.

Through the past two years, Thomas has been active for 18 games throughout his career to post 10 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, one pass defended, and one forced fumble within those regular season appearances.

He was active for four games this season, primarily as a depth linebacker and special teams contributor for the Cardinals before being released to free agency at the end of November.mber.

But upon his release, it would take less than a week for a team to take notice of his services, that being the Texans.

Thomas is now the second linebacker on Houston's practice squad, next to rookie Jackson Woodard, to provide a bit of extra defensive depth. If the Texans' linebacker room on the main roster gets beaten up or derailed for any reason, he could see his way to a role on the depth chart expand with an gameday elevation, as Houston has frequently done with their defensive backs this season.