It isn’t often that a team makes corresponding roster moves with players whose names are so similar, but the Houston Texans managed to make a doozy of a move on Tuesday afternoon with guys who happen to play the same position. It was first announced that they had signed receiver Tyron Johnson, a third-year pro out of Oklahoma State, before following up with the news that wideout Tyler Johnson, who had been with the team since late August, was waived.
The former Johnson has bounced around quite a bit since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2019. After initially being signed by the Texans, he played for the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers as a rookie, eventually finding a short-term home with the Los Angeles Chargers through 2020. He spent last season first with the Jacksonville Jaguars and later with the Las Vegas Raiders, and stayed in Sin City until October 22nd of this year, when he was waived.
As for the latter Johnson, who was a fifth-round selection in the 2020 draft by way of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his stint in Houston was just the second stop of his career. After playing with Tom Brady for his first two seasons in the NFL, he was eventually released in late August of 2022 and was picked up by the Texans shortly after.
Neither of these Johnsons has registered a reception through seven weeks this season, and it is unclear what the possibilities might be for their respective contributions moving forward. News of a potential claim for the receiver that Houston waived on Tuesday has not yet broken, so his future will remain uncertain for the time being.
The newest member of the Texans organization is known best for the three-touchdown campaign he put together in 2020 for the Chargers, and if he can duplicate that same impressive performance for Houston this season, Johnson might prove to be a boon for Lovie Smith’s struggling offense.
