Texans WR Acquisition Not a Lock to Make Roster

The Houston Texans are giving their young quarterback C.J. Stroud many options to pick from and it’s not a guarantee everybody will make the cut.

With Tank Dell expected to miss the 2025 season, the Texans went out and drafted two Iowa State wideouts Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in Rounds 2 and 3, respectively. These receivers leave a player like Christian Kirk, who adds potentially unnecessary cap space, in a race for a spot on the team.

Kirk was traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Texans on March 12 for Houston’s 2026 seventh-round pick. The deal was announced on March 6, but wasn’t made official until the new league year began on March 12.

Jacksonville was anticipated to release Kirk but instead traded him to Houston in a move similar to the Texans' acquisition of running back Joe Mixon from Cincinnati last offseason.

The removal of Kirk would clear up $2 million in cap space for the team.

Kirk, 28, is coming off a season ending injury from trying to catch a pass on 3rd and 11 in the fourth quarter against Green Bay on Oct. 27, 2024. He landed on his left shoulder as Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper fell on top of him while trying to make a tackle.