Texans Elevate Veteran Defender for Patriots Game

The Houston Texans have one practice squad elevation to report heading into their divisional round matchup vs. the New England Patriots.

According to an announcement from the Texans, veteran defensive tackle Leki Fotu will be elevated to Houston's gameday roster from the practice squad.

We have elevated Leki Fotu to the active roster from the practice squad for the Divisional Round at the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/FNkb4kXue4
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 17, 2026

It'll mark his fourth game played with Houston this season, and his second appearance in the postseason after being elevated against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his two regular-season showings for Houston, he had 46 total defensive snaps for three tackles.

Fortu will bring some additional depth into the Texans' defensive interior, filling in behind their usual contributors at defensive tackle, Sheldon Rankins and Tommy Togiai.

Texans Elevate Leki Fotu for Patriots Game

Fotu was a fourth round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft at the 114th overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals, where he remained for the first four seasons of his career, appearing in 56 games while starting in 21 of them.

He would eventually hop to a few other destinations, such as the New York Jets, and even earlier this season, the Las Vegas Raiders, before winding up with the Texans, and now can be a contributor in the trenches for Houston's defense in a chance to advance them to their first-ever conference championship appearance.

Oct 8, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Leki Fotu (95) against the Cincinnati Bengals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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During his last week while elevated against the Steelers, Fotu had 13 snaps his way––eight of those being pass rush snaps––to log a 49.3 overall grade via Pro Football Focus. He'll now have another chance to capitalize on a big opportunity and fill in alongside a Texans defensive line that's been at the top of their class all season.

At defensive tackle, it’s been a position group that's seen some turnover throughout the season for the Texans––seeing both Tim Settle Jr. and Mario Edwards Jr. go down with season-ending injuries towards the second half of the year, but it hasn't derailed Houston from remaining one of the top defenses, and particularly, the best defensive lines in the entire NFL.

Fotu might not have the most prominent role against New England compared to their typical starters in the trenches, but on downs where the Texans want to bring some extra size upfront to bring extra pressure on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, he could get a few looks his way like he did against the Steelers.

Kickoff between the Texans and Patriots is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in Gillette Stadium. Fans can watch the game on ABC or ESPN, or stream the game on the ESPN app.

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