Texans Make Flurry of Roster Signings After Loss to Patriots

The Houston Texans wasted no time signing some new deals on their roster heading into the NFL offseason.

Sep 22, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A Houston Texans player holds onto his helmet from the sideline during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Houston Texans have made several reserve/future signings to their roster following their 16-28 divisional round loss to the New England Patriots, thus marking the end of their 2025 campaign and officially beginning the 2026 offseason.

In all, the Texans inked nine players to their roster heading into the offseason, all of which were announced by the team.

Here's the full list of signings made:

DE Solomon Byrd
C Eli Cox
WR Josh Kelly
TE Luke Lachey
S Kaevon Merriweather
OG Sidy Sow
DT Junior Tafuna
LB Xavier Thomas
WR Jared Wayne

Five players on the offensive end, and four on the defensive side, let’s quickly sort through each to see who the Texans just added to their official roster.

Texans Sign Nine Players to Reserve/Future Contracts

Solomon Byrd is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end entering his third year in the league after being selected as a seventh-round pick by the Texans in 2024 at 238th overall. In the past two years, he's been activated for one regular-season game, remaining on Houston's practice squad for the entire 2025 campaign.

Eli Cox is a 6-foot-4, 309-pound center who now enters his second year with the Texans, having spent his rookie season as a UDFA pickup out of Kentucky turned to a practice squad guy for the entire 2025 season.

Josh Kelly and Jared Wayne bring some added depth to the Texans' wide receiver room, with Kelly being a member of Houston's practice squad dating back to August, while Wayne will be entering his third year pro, having suited up in four regular-season games with the Texans as a UDFA himself.

Sep 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jared Wayne (14) returns a punt during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Luke Lachey was the Texans' seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft, a 6-foot-6, 247-pound tight end out of Iowa, who now continues to get a chance on Houston's roster after being a year-long practice squad member.

Safety Kaevon Merriweather is the Texans' latest addition to the defense after being picked up via waivers midseason from the Buffalo Bills; the 6-foot, 212-pound veteran with three years of experience who played in Houston's regular season finale for his only appearance for the team this year.

Sidy Sow, the 6-foot-5, 313-pound guard, is a former New England Patriots fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft who's been with the Texans since the start of this season as a member of their practice squad, and now gets to extend his tenure in Houston just a little bit longer.

Junior Tafuna, the Texans' 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive tackle, will be entering his second year with the team, having been on the practice squad all season without any reps with the main roster. 

And as for linebacker Xavier Thomas––the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder and former fifth-round pick from two years ago––he's another late addition to the Texans' defense that came on the back end of their regular season, having spent the past two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, before then coming onto Houston's practice squad at the beginning of December.

It's a wide variety of talents for the Texans, all of which have previous experience with the team throughout this season, and now can extend their stay into the offseason for a chance to make next year's roster.

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