JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Texans are activating veteran defensive end Mario Addison to the 53-man roster after designating him for return from injured reserve, according to a league source.
The Texans are playing without starting defensive end Jonathan Greenard, who was ruled out due to an ankle injury and he isn’t making the trip for Sunday’s road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Greenard was questionable on the injury report and favored his ankle in limited work at practice Friday. He led the Texans with eight sacks last season and has 1 1/2 sack, five tackles for losses and three quarterback hits this season.
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The Texans are elevating tight ends Jordan Akins and Mason Schreck from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to league sources.
The Texans cut starting tight end Pharaoh Brown, now with the Cleveland Browns, this week and they have former Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft pick O.J. Howard in place as the starter.
Addison, 35, was signed to a two-year, $7.7 million contract this offseason that included a $2 million signing bonus.
The former Buffalo Bills starter is an accomplished pass rusher who has been sidelined with a groin injury.
He missed the first four games of the season
He had seven sacks last season for the Bills.
Addison played for Texans defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire with the Buffalo Bills.
He has also played for the Chicago Bears, briefly, when Texans coach Lovie Smith was the coach after going undrafted in 2011 out of Troy State. He was claimed off waivers by the Colts and then played for Washington and the Carolina Panthers.
He signed a three-year, $30.45 million deal with the Bills and was due base salaries of $6.625 million over the final two years of the deal before agreeing to a pay cut.
He played in 15 games last season for the AFC East champion Bills and had 29 tackles and two forced fumbles.
Addison (6-foot-3, 260 pounds) has 67 career sacks and 281 tackles with 112 quarterback hits, 13 forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries.
“Mario has played in the league for a long time,” Smith said this week. “Of course, he’s more advanced with being able to play quicker. We can always use him, a good pass rusher, a good defensive end, to play. He’s healthy now. The process has started. Hopefully, sooner than later, he’ll be out there.”
This marks Akins’ third and final elevation to the active roster.
A former third-round draft pick, Akins caught a touchdown pass against the Chicago Bears. He has five receptions for 64 yards in two games and six targets since rejoining the Texans after being cut by the New York Giants.
Akins has 119 career receptions for 1,324 yards and four touchdowns, all with the Texans.
Akins caught three passes for 31 yards against the Bears and two passes for 33 yards against the Chargers.
Schreck, 28, caught his first NFL regular-season pass against the Chargers. The former Cincinnati Bengals seventh-round draft pick from Buffalo has played in 24 career games with one start.
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com