The Texans have replaced one defensive lineman with another, putting rookie Louis Nix on injured reserve and signing veteran free agent Ryan Pickett to take his place on the roster, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). A report yesterday had indicated that Pickett recently worked out for the club.
Pickett, who turns 35 next month, has spent the majority of the last decade in Green Bay, where he started 113 of the 119 games he played for the Packers between 2006 and 2013, including all 16 last season. Back in July, we heard that the veteran defensive tackle was looking to continue his career and that his preference would be to continue with the Packers, but Green Bay had apparently decided to move on, electing not so sign Pickett even after B.J. Raji went down for the season.
As McClain points out (via Twitter), Nix underwent a knee scope during the preseason and never got fully healthy, so he was inactive for the Texans’ first three games. With the third-round pick heading to the injured reserve list, Pickett will push for playing time at the nose tackle spot in Houston. So far, Jerrell Powe has taken most snaps at the position, but has graded as just the 62nd-best defensive tackle out of 73 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).