Falcons Waived DB Kendall Sheffield Moves to Texans
The Houston Texans are adding another cornerback to their roster for the offseason, and it's one from the Atlanta Falcons.
The Texans have claimed former Falcons corner Kendall Sheffield on the waiver wire. Sheffield was waived following the addition of Las Vegas receiver Bryan Edwards.
Sheffield is a Houston native, playing his high school football at Fort Bend Marshall in Missouri City. He was one of the top cornerbacks in the nation when coming out of high school in 2015, initially committing to Alabama before electing to enter the transfer portal.
Sheffield would spend one season at Blinn Junior College before transferring to Ohio State. He immediately became a factor in the team's secondary, being named a starter for the 2017 season. That year, he recorded career-high 40 tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Drafted in the fourth round by the Falcons in 2019, Sheffield primarily saw reps on special teams, but did work his way into a part-time starting role during his three seasons with the organization.
Sheffield played in 38 games, making 20 starts — 11 of which came during his rookie year. During his tenure, he posted an overall defensive grade of 47.5 in 2019 before seeing his production decrease to 40.3 in 2020, according to PFF.
In 2021, Sheffield missed majority of the early camp with a foot injury. He did not return until October and only saw significant action against Detroit and Buffalo toward the season's conclusion.
In his two best seasons, Sheffield gave up over 1,000 yards on 85 receptions. Houston likely will consider the 5-10, 212-pound cornerback as a nickel defender only. Currently, the Texans seem content inside with breakout star Tavierre Thomas and veteran Desmond King.
For the Falcons, Atlanta upgraded its cornerback room by adding in former Las Vegas Raiders' Casey Hayward Jr. Hayward, a Georgia native, likely will see action on the outside opposite A.J. Terrell while veteran Isaiah Oliver will play in the nickel.
"This probably the first time in my career where on the other side I’m like, dang this guy’s super talented and can go out there and lock the number ones up and one of the top guys in the league," Hayward said of playing with Terrell.
