2021 Houston Texans

2021 Houston Texans season
Owner	Janice and D. Cal McNair
President	Greg Grissom
Head Coach	David Culley
General Manager	Nick Caserio
Offensive Coordinator	Tim Kelly
Defensive Coordinator	Bobby King
Home Field	NRG Stadium
Results
Record	4–13
Place	3rd AFC South
Playoff Finish	Did not qualify
Uniform
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
2020	2022

The 2021 season was the Houston Texans' 20th season in the National Football League, and their first and only under head coach David Culley.

For the first time since 2010, defensive end J. J. Watt was not on the roster, as he had signed with the Arizona Cardinals on March 5, 2021, reuniting him with former Texans teammate DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded to the Cardinals the season prior. It also was the first time since 2013 without former head coach Bill O'Brien, as he was fired just four games into the 2020 season when the Texans began 0–4.

In addition, Deshaun Watson, the starting quarterback since 2017, was inactive the entire season due to several allegations of sexual assault. Though he was never released, suspended, or placed on any reserve list, he was ruled out each week for "non-injury-related" reasons. Veteran free agent signing Tyrod Taylor and rookie Davis Mills split time as the starting quarterback in Watson's stead throughout the season. Due to injury and poor performance by Taylor, Mills would be the starting quarterback for most of the season. Mills would finish the season with 2,664 passing yards, breaking the franchise record for most passing yards in a season by a rookie quarterback.

After winning their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Texans would go on an eight-game losing streak before winning against the Tennessee Titans in week 11. After a Week 13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans became the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive year. With a 41–29 upset victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in week 16, the Texans matched their win total from the previous season, at four.

Following the season, head coach David Culley and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly were fired. Watson would also be traded to the Cleveland Browns in the following off-season.

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Offseason

Signings

Position	Player	Age	2020 team	Contract
QB	Tyrod Taylor	32	Los Angeles Chargers	1 year, $12.5 million
RB	Phillip Lindsay	27	Denver Broncos	1 year, $3.5 million
RB	Mark Ingram, Jr.	31	Baltimore Ravens	1 year, $3 million
RB	Rex Burkhead	30	New England Patriots
WR	Andre Roberts	33	Buffalo Bills	2 years, $5.95 million
WR	Chris Moore	28	Baltimore Ravens	1 year, $5.95 million
WR	Alex Erickson	28	Cincinnati Bengals	1 year, no details
WR	Donte Moncrief	28	New England Patriots	1 year, no details
WR	Chris Conley	28	Jacksonville Jaguars	1 year, no details
TE	Paul Quessenberry	29	New England Patriots	1 year, no details
OG	Justin McCray	29	Atlanta Falcons	2 years, $4 million
OG	Lane Taylor	31	Green Bay Packers	1 year, no details
C	Cole Toner	30	Los Angeles Chargers	1 year, no details
C	Justin Britt	30	Did not play	1 year, $5 million
DT	Maliek Collins	26	Las Vegas Raiders	1 year, $6 million
DT	Vincent Taylor	27	Cleveland Browns	1 year, $2 million
LB	Kevin Pierre-Louis	29	Washington Football Team	2 years, $8 million
LB	Jordan Jenkins	27	New York Jets	2 years, $6 million
LB	Christian Kirksey	29	Green Bay Packers	1 year, $4.5 million
LB	Kamu Grugier-Hill	27	Miami Dolphins	1 year, $3.25 million
LB	Joe Thomas	30	Dallas Cowboys	1 year, $2 million
LB	Derek Rivers	27	Los Angeles Rams	1 year, $1.3 million
LB	Tae Davis	25	Cleveland Browns	1 year, no details
LB	Hardy Nickerson Jr.	27	Minnesota Vikings	1 year, no details
CB	Terrance Mitchell	29	Cleveland Browns	2 years, $7.5 million
CB	Tavierre Thomas	25	Cleveland Browns	2 years, no details
CB	Desmond King	26	Tennessee Titans	1 year, $3.5 million
CB	Tremon Smith	25	Indianapolis Colts	1 year, $1.13 million
S	Terrence Brooks	29	New England Patriots	1 year, $2 million
P	Cameron Johnston	29	Philadelphia Eagles	3 years, $8 million

Re-Signings

Position	Player	Age	Contract
RB	Dontrell Hilliard	26	1 year, $1.25 million
RB	Buddy Howell	24	1 year, no details
TE	Pharaoh Brown	27	1 year, $2.2 million
CB	Vernon Hargreaves	26	1 year, no details
CB	Cornell Armstrong	26	1 year, no details
LS	Jon Weeks	35	1 year, 1.075 million

Departures

Position	Player	Age	2021 team
QB	Ryan Finley	26	TBD
RB	Duke Johnson	27	TBD
FB	Cullen Gillaspia	26	New York Giants
WR	Chad Hansen	26	Detroit Lions
WR	Steven Mitchell	26	TBD
TE	Darren Fells	34	Detroit Lions
OG	Senio Kelemete	31	San Francisco 49ers
OG	Zach Fulton	29	New York Giants
OG	Beau Benzschawel	25	Washington Football Team
C	Nick Martin	28	Las Vegas Raiders
DE	J. J. Watt	31	Arizona Cardinals
DT	Carlos Watkins	28	Dallas Cowboys
CB	Mark Fields	24	San Francisco 49ers
CB	Brandon Williams	28	TBD
P	Bryan Anger	32	Dallas Cowboys
LS	Anthony Kukwa	28	TBD

Trades

March 17	To Houston Texans Shaq Lawson WAS's 2021 sixth round pick	To Miami Dolphins Benardrick McKinney 2021 7th round pcik
	To Houston Texans Marcus Cannon 2021 fifth round pick DAL's 2021 sixth round pick	To New England Patriots ARI's 2021 fourth round pick 2021 sixth round pick
March 18	To Houston Texans Ryan Izzo	To New England Patriots 2022 seventh round pick
March 19	To Houston Texans Ryan Finley 2021 seventh round pick	To Cincinnati Bengals MIA's 2021 sixth round pick

Draft

• Main article: 2021 NFL Draft

2021 Houston Texans draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
3	67	Davis Mills	QB	Stanford
3	89	Nico Collins	WR	Michigan	from Cleveland via Carolina
5	147	Brevin Jordan	TE	Miami (FL)
5	170	Garret Wallow	LB	TCU	from Cleveland via Jacksonville and L.A. Rams
6	195	Roy Lopez	DT	Arizona	from Dallas via New England
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff

Houston Texans current staff

	Front office Owner/senior chairwoman – Janice McNair CEO/chairman – Cal McNair President – Greg Grissom General manager – Nick Caserio Executive vice president of football operations – Jack Easterby Executive vice president/general counsel – Greg Kondritz Director of football operations – Clay Hampton Assistant director of player personnel and college scouting director – James Liipfert Director of Pro Personnel – Ronnie McGill Assistant director of pro scouting – D.J. Debick Director of team development – Dylan Thompson Head coaches Head coach – Lovie Smith Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Pep Hamilton Running backs – Danny Barrett Wide receivers/pass game coordinator – Ben McDaniels Tight ends – Tim Berbenich Offensive line – George Warhop Assistant offensive line – Hal Hunter Offensive assistant – DeNarius McGhee Offensive assistant – Robbie Picazo Offensive assistant/quarterbacks – Ted White			Defensive coaches Defensive line – Jacques Cesaire Assistant defensive line – Kenyon Jackson Linebackers – Miles Smith Cornerbacks – Dino Vasso Safeties – Joe Danna Defensive assistant – Ben Bolling Defensive assistant/nickels – Ilir Emini Defensive assistant – Dele Harding Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Frank Ross Assistant special teams – Sean Baker Strength and Conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Mike Eubanks Assistant strength and conditioning coach – James Hardy Assistant strength and conditioning coach – Joe Distor Assistant strength and conditioning coach – Pat Moorer → Coaching staff → Management → More NFL staffs
Template:NFL staff footer

Current roster

Houston Texans current roster
Quarterbacks 4 Deshaun Watson Running Backs 22 Dontrell Hilliard -- Mark Ingram, Jr. 38 Buddy Howell 31 David Johnson 40 Scottie Phillips Wide Receivers 18 Randall Cobb 13 Brandin Cooks 82 Isaiah Coulter 16 Keke Coutee 17 Chad Hansen 11 Steven Mitchell 19 Damion Tight Ends 88 Jordan Akins 87 Darren Fells -- Paul Quessenberry 81 Kahale Warring		Offensive Linemen 68 Justin Britt G 73 Zach Fulton T 77 Hjalte Froholdt G 67 Charlie Heck G 71 Tytus Howard T 74 Max Scharping T 78 Laremy Tunsil T Defensive Linemen 90 Ross Blacklock NT 97 Andrew Brown DE 92 Brandon Dunn NT 94 Charles Omenihu DE Linebackers 41 Zach Cunningham ILB 53 Duke Ejiofor OLB 52 Jonathan Greenard OLB 48 Nate Hall ILB 54 Jacob Martin OLB 59 Whitney Mercilus OLB 55 Benardrick McKinney ILB Defensive Backs 30 Cornell Armstrong CB 35 Keion Crossen CB 32 Lonnie Johnson Jr. CB 23 Eric Murray SS 36 Johnathan Owens S 34 John Reid CB 20 Justin Reid FS 21 Bradley Roby CB		Special Teams 7 Ka'imi Fairbairn K 9 Bryan Anger P Unrestricted FAs currently vacant Restricted FAs currently vacant Exclusive-Rights FAs currently vacant Reserve Lists 71 Jeff Allen G (PUP)

Player codes

• Active/PUP - Active / Physically Unable to Perform
• PUP - Reserve / Physically Unable to Perform
• IR - Injured Reserve
• IR/DFR - Injured Reserve / Slated for Return
• R - Rookie (player name in italics)
• FA - Free Agent (Restriced)
• UFA - Unrestriced free agent
• NF-Inj. - Reserve-Non-Football Related Injury
• NF-Ill. - Reserve-Non-Football Related Illness
• PS-IR - Practice Squad/Injured Reserve
• S- Suspended
• SI - Suspended infdefinitely
• Did Not Report - Reserve/Did not report
• Exempt/Left Squad - Exempt/Left squad
• Left Squad - Reserve/Left squad
• Susp. or Suspended- Reserve/Suspended
• Military - Reserve/Military
• Future - Reserve/Future
• Exempt - Roster exemption

Rookies in italics
Roster
Depth Chart • Transactions

→ More rosters

Preseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 14	at Green Bay	W 26–7	1–0	Lambeau Field	Recap
2	August 21	at Dallas	W 20–14	2–0	AT&T Stadium	Recap
3	August 28	Tampa Bay	L 16–23	2–1	NRG Stadium	Recap

Game summaries

Week 1: at Green Bay Packers

Week One: Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers – Game summary 1 2 3 4 Total Texans 3 10 3 10 26 Packers 0 7 0 0 7 at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Date: August 14 Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 72,348 TV: KTRK Recap Game information First quarter HOU – Ka'imi Fairbairn 37-yard field goal, 7:48. Texans 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 5:33. Second quarter GB – Kylin Hill 22-yard pass from Jordan Love (J. J. Molson kick), 14:15. Packers 7–3. Drive: 9 plays, 88 yards, 5:13. HOU – Scottie Phillips 5-yard run (Ka'imi Fairbairn kick), 9:08. Texans 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 2:03. HOU – Ka'imi Fairbarin 25-yard field goal, 0:56. Texans 13–7. Drive: 17 plays, 71 yards, 6:01. Third quarter HOU – Ka'imi Fairbairn 41-yard field goal, 6:11. Texans 16–7. Drive: 9 plays, 34 yards, 3:57. Fourth quarter HOU – Ka'imi Fairbairn 42-yard field goal, 13:01. Texans 19–7. Drive: 7 plays, 36 yards, 3:28. HOU – Darius Jackson 25-yard run (Ka'imi Fairbairn kick), 6:06. Texans 26–7. Drive: 3 plays, 34 yards, 1:39. Top passers HOU – Davis Mills – 11/21, 112 yards, INT GB – Jordan Love – 12/17, 122 yards, TD Top rushers HOU – Scottie Phillips – 13 rushes, 66 yards, TD GB – Dexter Williams – 4 rushes, 32 yards Top receivers HOU – Chris Conley – 4 receptions, 51 yards GB – Devin Funchess – 6 receptions, 70 yards

Tyrod Taylor started at quarterback for the Texans, leading the team 57 yards downfield on his first drive, before the drive stalled at Green Bay's 19-yard line; the Texans would settle for a 37-yard field goal from Ka'imi Fairbairn to take a 3–0 lead. This was the only drive Taylor would play, going 4-of-4 for 40 yards. Rookie quarterback Davis Mills entered the game on Houston's next drive, being sacked once and throwing an incomplete pass as the Texans went three-and-out. After the rough start, Mills would settle in and lead the Texans on two scoring drives, resulting in ten points. Late in the 2nd quarter, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love was sacked and fumbled the ball, with Jaleel Johnson recovering for Houston at the Green Bay 17-yard line; however, Mills would throw an interception on the very next play. Mills would briefly appear in the 2nd half before Jeff Driskel took over midway in the 3rd quarter. Driskel would remain the Texans' quarterback for the rest of the game; Driskel would only complete one pass out of six attempts for 2 yards. Late in the 4th quarter, Houston cornerback Tremon Smith intercepted a Kurt Benkert pass.

The three Texans' quarterbacks finished with a combined 16/32 for 149 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys

Week Two: Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary 1 2 3 4 Total Texans 7 0 7 6 20 Cowboys 7 7 0 0 14 at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas Date: August 21 Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT Game weather: None (retractable roof closed) Referee: Brad Rogers TV: KTRK Recap Game information First quarter HOU – Mark Ingram Jr. 2-yard run (Ka'imi Fairbairn kick), 11:06. Texans 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 23 yards, 3:04. DAL – Tony Pollard 8-yard pass from Cooper Rush (Lirim Hajrullahu kick), 3:36. Tied 7–7. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:15. Second quarter DAL – Cedrick Wilson Jr. 9-yard pass from Cooper Rush (Lirim Hajrullahu kick), 1:48. Cowboys 14–7. Drive: 13 plays, 85 yards, 6:11. Third quarter HOU – Lonnie Johnson Jr. 53-yard interception return (Ka'imi Fairbairn kick), 6:52. Tied 14–14. Fourth quarter HOU – Ka'imi Fairbairn 38-yard field goal, 11:35. Texans 17–14. Drive: 8 plays, 70 yards, 4:15. HOU – Ka'imi Fairbairn 24-yard field goal, 2:13. Texans 20–14. Drive: 9 plays, 45 yards, 2:53. Top passers HOU – Davis Mills – 10/16, 115 yards DAL – Ben DiNucci – 14/19, 120 yards, 3 INT Top rushers HOU – Mark Ingram Jr. – 7 rushes, 24 yards, TD DAL – Rico Dowdle – 6 rushes, 31 yards Top receivers HOU – Jordan Veasy – 2 receptions, 30 yards DAL – Noah Brown – 3 receptions, 35 yards

The Cowboys received the opening kickoff, with Houston defensive end Jacob Martin causing a fumble on the third play of the game, with Charles Omenihu recovering it for the Texans. Tyrod Taylor started at quarterback for Houston, leading the offense on a short drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from Mark Ingram Jr.. Taylor would play for most of the 1st quarter before Davis Mills came in with 0:22 left; Taylor finished 2-of-5 for 10 yards. In the third quarter, cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. intercepted a Ben DiNucci pass and returned it 53 yards for a pick six touchdown. Shyheim Carter picked off a DiNucci pass in the 4th quarter, returning it 5 yards to the 50-yard line. Jeff Driskel took over at quarterback on the next drive, leading the team down to the red zone before the drive stalled, settling for a 24-yard field goal from Ka'imi Fairbairn to give the Texans a 20–14 lead. Late in the 4th quarter, with the Cowboys trying to win the game, strong safety Terrence Brooks intercepted DiNucci, sealing the victory for the Texans.

The Texans only had 220 yards of offense versus the Cowboys' 308, but committed no turnovers while Dallas turned the ball over four times. The three Houston quarterbacks finished for a combined 13-of-23 for 131 yards.

Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Three: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans – Game summary 1 2 3 4 Total Buccaneers 6 10 7 0 23 Texans 0 2 8 6 16 at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas Date: August 28 Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT Game weather: None (retractable roof closed) TV: KTRK Recap Game information First quarter TB – Chris Goodwin 24-yard pass from Tom Brady (kick blocked), 10:12. Buccaneers 6–0. Drive: 7 plays, 91 yards, 2:26. Second quarter TB – Ronald Jones II 13-yard run (Jose Borregales kick), 11:43. Buccaneers 13–0. Drive: 8 plays, 93 yards, 3:34. HOU – Blaine Gabbert sacked in end zone, 11:43. Buccaneers 13–2. TB – Jose Borregales 36-yard field goal, 0:00. Buccaneers 16–2. Drive: 6 plays, 24 yards, 0:53. Third quarter HOU – Nico Collins 11-yard pass from Davis Mills (Davis Mills pass to Keke Coutee), 8:44. Buccaneers 16–10. Drive: 1 play, 11 yards, 0:04. TB – Codey McElroy 20-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Jose Borregales kick), 5:13. Buccaneers 23–10. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 3:31. Fourth quarter HOU – Jordan Veasy 9-yard pass from Davis Mills (pass failed), 12:33. Buccaneers 23–16. Drive: 5 plays, 39 yards, 1:40. Top passers TB – Tom Brady – 11/14, 154 yards, TD HOU – Davis Mills – 10/27, 106 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Top rushers TB – Ke'Shawn Vaughn – 15 rushes, 29 yards HOU – Scottie Phillips – 8 rushes, 73 yards Top receivers TB – Chris Goodwin – 3 receptions, 84 yards, TD HOU – Chris Moore – 2 receptions, 40 yards

Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn suffered an injury during pregame warmups, with safety Justin Reid handling the kickoffs for the Texans; Reid would not attempt any field goals or extra points, with the team opting to go for it on 4th down and attempt a two-point conversion after touchdowns. Tyrod Taylor started at quarterback and played until midway of the 2nd quarter. Taylor left the game after losing a fumble on a sack, finishing 6-of-9 for 31 yards. Davis Mills would play for the rest of the game, going 10-of-27 for 106 yards with two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. Taylor and Mills finished for a combined 16-of-36 for 115 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Regular season

Schedule

The Texans' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.

Week	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	TV	Recap
1	September 12	12:00 p.m.	Jacksonville			NRG Stadium	CBS
2	September 19	12:00 p.m.	at Cleveland			FirstEnergy Stadium	CBS
3	September 23	7:20 p.m.	Carolina			NRG Stadium	NFLN
4	October 3	12:00 p.m.	at Buffalo			Highmark Stadium	CBS
5	October 10	12:00 p.m.	New England			NRG Stadium	CBS
6	October 17	12:00 p.m.	at Indianapolis			Lucas Oil Stadium	CBS
7	October 24	3:25 p.m.	at Arizona			State Farm Stadium	CBS
8	October 31	12:00 p.m.	LA Rams			NRG Stadium	Fox
9	November 7	12:00 p.m.	at Miami			Hard Rock Stadium	Fox
10	Bye
11	November 21	12:00 p.m.	at Tennessee			Nissan Stadium	CBS
12	November 28	12:00 p.m.	NY Jets			NRG Stadium	CBS
13	December 5	12:00 p.m.	Indianapolis			NRG Stadium	CBS
14	December 12	12:00 p.m.	Seattle			NRG Stadium	Fox
15	December 19	12:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville			TIAA Bank Field	CBS
16	December 26	12:00 p.m.	LA Chargers			NRG Stadium	CBS
17	January 2	3:05 p.m.	at San Francisco			Levi's Stadium	CBS
18	January 9	12:00 p.m.	Tennessee			NRG Stadium	CBS

Notes:

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• Networks and times from Weeks 5–18 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.
• Week 18 is subject to being flexed to Saturday, January 8.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 1: Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans – Game summary 1 2 3 4 Total Jaguars 0 0 0 0 0 Texans 0 0 0 0 0 at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas Date: September 12 Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT Game weather: TBD (retractable roof stadium) Referee: Land Clark TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta and AJ Ross Preview

External links

• Official website