Texans Sign WR Chester Rogers

8:25pm: The Texans have indeed signed Rogers to a contract, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). It will be a one-year deal for the receiver.

9:00am: The Texans could be eyeing an addition or two in their receiver room. Houston is working out free agents Willie Snead and Chester Rogers, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Kurt Benkert was the quarterback throwing to the two receivers, Wilson adds (on Twitter). The team is not planning to sign Benkert at this time, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. 

Snead, 29, has been a member of this offseason’s free agent WR class which has, with few exceptions, received little interest even as training camps have opened up. He is coming off of a disappointing 2021 season, in which he totalled four receptions between the Raiders and Panthers. The former UDFA is best known for his time in New Orleans, where he totaled nearly 2,000 yards in three seasons. That was followed by a three-year stint in Baltimore, in which he occupied a secondary role in the team’s low-volume passing attack. Eyeing a more favorable landing spot, the veteran has remained patient while weighing potential free agent destinations.

At 28, Rogers is in a similar position in terms of age and desire for a longer-term NFL home. His best season to date came in 2018 with the Colts, when he registered 53 catches for 485 yards. That led to him being tendered the following year, but a knee fracture ended his final Colts season prematurely. The Grambling State product spent 2020 on the Dolphins’ practice squad, then last season with the Titans. He logged a similar snap share (42%) on offense to his previous campaigns, but logged the largest workload of his career as a returner. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Rogers has received interest from “multiple teams.”

The Texans lacked established wideouts aside from Brandin Cooks heading into this season. The position then received a significant blow when it came out that second-round rookie John Metchie will miss the 2022 season with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. As at least a stop-gap option, then, either of these free agents could take on a notable role in Houston as the team looks to take a step forward on offense, and they aim to rebuild their market value.