The Houston Texans have been one of the NFL’s most promising young teams over the past couple of years, and it will soon be time for them to start seriously contending for a Super Bowl championship.
They have one of the league’s better quarterbacks in C.J. Stroud, the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year, a solid running back in Joe Mixon, viable wide receiver threats in Tank Dell and Nico Collins, and defensive stars Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson and Derek Stingley Jr.
At tight end, Houston has the reliable Dalton Schultz as its starter, and they reportedly are maintaining some of the depth behind him.
“Texans signing veteran tight end Irv Smith [Jr.] to one-year deal, per a league source,” Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston wrote on X.
#Texans signing veteran tight end Irv Smith to one-year deal, per a league source @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 18, 2025
Smith was a significant contributor in college at Alabama, helping it win the College Football Playoff National Championship during the 2017 season.
The following year, he caught 44 passes for 710 yards and seven touchdowns.
He was then taken in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, and in two seasons with them had 858 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
The Texans signed Smith early last season, and he went back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster.
He appeared in five games and started one, but was never targeted.
Smith is fourth on the depth chart behind Schultz, Brevin Jordan and Cade Stover, but he could be called upon for a bigger role with the status of Jordan (recovering from an ACL injury) and Stover (collarbone) in question for the start of the 2025 season.
NEXT: Stats Reveal Glaring Concerns About C.J. Stroud In 2024
