The Houston Texans were quite busy to start the second week of NFL free agency. On Monday, the Texans reportedly signed veteran cornerback Ronald Darby and fullback Jakob Johnson to one-year deals.
The Texans cut three players from the 90-man roster to make room for those two new signings. According to Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, Houston waived wide receiver Kearis Jackson, cornerback Anthony Averett, and safety Brandon Hill, with the latter failing a physical.
The Texans waived WR Kearis Jackson, CB Anthony Averret, and S Brandon Hill, who failed a physical, per the team.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) March 17, 2025
Houston selected the 24-year-old defensive back in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Hill didn’t initially make the 53-man roster out of training camp as the Texans waived him. But they re-signing the former University of Pittsburgh defender to the practice squad.
Hill was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 6, 2023, with an undisclosed injury. However, he was dealing with a hamstring issue during training camp.
A month later, the rookie safety was assigned to the taxi squad and elevated twice to the active roster during the 2023 season. Hill appeared in two games as a rookie, predominantly playing special teams.
The Texans signed the rookie defensive back to a futures/reserve contract at the end of the 2023 season. Last summer, Hill was placed on injured reserve for a leg injury. He suffered the season-ending injury in the Texans’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
The former seventh-round pick was carted off the field, which doomed his chances of making the 53-man roster. Hill never saw any snaps last season for the Texans after competing for a spot. That said, the 24-year-old will try to get healthy and hopefully land a new opportunity with another team this offseason.
Meanwhile, Houston will likely continue to add more depth to their secondary in free agency and possibly in the NFL draft.