HOUSTON – Desmond King reacted in a hurry when he saw Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence pitch the football out to running back Travis Etienne a week ago.
King’s instincts and aggressiveness kicked in as he bolted up to the line of scrimmage to tackle Etienne for no gain, completing a dramatic goal-line stand to keep the Texans from falling further behind against an AFC South division rival.
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And, now, King will operate as the Texans’ primary nickel, league sources told KPRC 2, for this pivotal game at NRG Stadium against veteran quarterback Russell Wilson and a Denver Broncos team riding a five-game winning streak.
The tackle, albeit in a narrow loss, meant a lot to King, who had been signed to the practice squad last week after being out of the NFL for a month after being cut by the Texans in the preseason and then released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“To me, it was an opportunity for me to go out onto the field, I hadn’t been on the field in a while,” King said Wednesday after being promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster with the release of cornerback Shaq Griffin. “It was just an opportunity I had to make the best of. Thankful for it and thankful to be back in Houston with my brothers.
“Every time I step on the field I want to attack every play. that was a big play in the game and a big play in my career. Wherever they need me at, that was a goal-line stand. They threw me out there, no practice at it, and I did what I did.”
Yes, the jolting tackle made a big impact on his standing on the defense.
“Des did a good job of stepping in for us last week,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Des, just his mindset since he’s been back has been, ‘Whatever you need me to do, coach.’ I love a guy who has that mindset. He’s willing to just help out in any way possible, so we’ll see how can utilize him this week.”
King started 25 of 33 games for the Texans over the previous two seasons before being released, recording 182 tackles and five interceptions,
King has 427 career tackles, 8 1/2 sacks, nine interceptions, seven fumble recoveries, 2,270 return yards and five touchdowns
The Detroit native, back next to his friend, Texans nickel and special-teams contributor Tavierre Thomas, is embracing the opportunity.
‘Yeah, man, 313,” King said while looking toward Thomas after practice. “Even with him, he knows whenever I go out there, whenever we go out onto the field. we want to continue to push each other and help each other, keep grinding and make each other better.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.