Naquan Jones, Houston Texans
Getty
Naquan Jones #96 of the Arizona Cardinals looks on against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Houston Texans made another roster move on Sunday, this time involving Naquan Jones, with just hours before the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period and days before the official start of the 2026 offseason.
A veteran of five NFL seasons, Jones spent part of the 2025 campaign with the Texans and acquitted himself nicely.
The Texans, as proactive an organization as there is, have rewarded him accordingly.
Texans Re-Up With Veteran DL Naquan Jones
Naquan Jones, Houston Texans
GettyNaquan Jones #96 of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on during a game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
News of the Texans’ decision to retain Jones first came from his agent, Mike McCartney. He posted, “Congrats @thealmightynay agreeing to a 1 year deal with the @HoustonTexans” on X on March 8.
According to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, the deal is worth up to $2.5 million.
He was on a one-year, $1.8 million pact that transferred from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Texans when the latter claimed him off waivers from the former.
“I’m excited to be back,” Jones told Wilson, noting that the Texans “fell short” in the postseason but that they were “able to build” chemistry quickly and saying that “You want to be a part of that. The camaraderie is only going to get better. Everybody wants to compete and be the best and see other guys be the best. It all flows.”
His production was modest for the Texans.
Jones had 3 total tackles with 70 defensive snaps in four games for Houston, per Pro Football Reference.
Jones’ numbers belie the fact that he made a positive impression, as The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander noted, “The Texans first picked him up off waivers mid season last year and he performed well.”
An undrafted free agent in 2021, he has played for the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans.
He has 102 combined tackles, 6.5 sacks, 5 pass deflections, and has started eight of the 60 games that he has played in during his career.
“I believe it’s going to be something great,” Jones told Wilson after news of his deal made the rounds on social media, before adding that he is “I’m grateful and excited to be a part” of what the Texans are building.
Texans DT Room Full of Cast-Offs
Mario Edwards Jr., Houston Texans
GettyWill Anderson Jr. #51 and Mario Edwards Jr. #97 of the Houston Texans celebrate against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Texans have made a habit of finding defensive tackles like Jones and making use of them in ways that their previous teams could not.
Houston had nine players listed as defensive tackles log snaps for them during the 2025 regular season. They did not draft any of them. They have one DT that they drafted under contract for 2026. That is 2025 seventh-round pick Kyonte Hamilton, who did not play as a rookie.
He joins Jones and veterans Mario Edwards, Tommy Togiai, and Junior Tafuna.
The Texans cycled through several options during the season, landing on Jones as part of that, due to injuries up front to Folorunso Fatukasi and Tim Settle.
Both players are free agents this offseason. It remains to be seen if the Texans will look to bring either back. They could seek longer-term solutions. That would be a break in character for general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans at this point, though.