HOUSTON – Former Texans wide receiver Jared Wayne and Ka’dar Hollman visited the Texans on Monday, per league sources.
The Texans also worked out defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.
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The Texans could add those players to a practice squad potentially as soon as Wednesday after the roster cutdown.
Wayne strained his hamstring and was released.
He was expected to return to practice against the Minnesota Vikings.
Wayne, 24 is a Canada native and former undrafted free agent from Pitt who has made strides in his game, especially his ability to create separation on deeper routes. He drew praise from coach DeMeco Ryans this offseason and has made some good plays at training camp.
He appeared in three games last season with no statistics registered, playing 40 snaps on offense and 24 snaps on special teams after being elevated from the practice squad. He was targeted twice in a playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with no catches as he played 24 snaps on offense and 10 snaps on special teams.
Wayne is an Ontario, Canada native drafted in the second round by the Toronto Argonauts. He’s 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, has posted a 42-inch vertical leap and has run the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds.
Wayne caught 60 passes for 1,062 yards and five touchdowns in his final season at Pitt as a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection. He caught 11 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns against Miami, finishing his career with 146 career receptions for 2,308 yards.
Hollman, 30, tore his anterior cruciate ligament last November with the Texans.
He has also played for the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers.
He has 33 career tackles with five passes defensed.
Mathis is a former Washington Commanders second-round draft pick from Alabama. He has also played for the New York Jets
Mathis (6-foot-4, 310 pounds, 4.91 speed in the 40-yard dash) has 25 career tackles and one fumble recovery.
Texans have tough decisions at receiver
The Texans are considered likely to retain return man and reserve wide receiver Braxton Berrios.
Whether they go with seven wide receivers and include former Kansas City Chiefs player Justin Watson is an interesting debate.
“So many of those guys in the wide receiver room just showed up throughout training camp,” Ryans said. " They showed up making plays, showed up being productive. I feel like our defensive backs made it tough and competitive and wide receivers were still able to shine and make plays. So, it’s really credit to those guys or how they showed up every day.
“You can name a guy, it’s hard to say how many you want to keep because you want to keep as many as possible because they’re all reliable guys. That’s what continues to show up for me when it comes to making our team this year. We just want guys who are steady, guys who are reliable. We have a ton of those guys in the receiver room.”
Defensive line in flux
If the Texans activate defensive end Denico Autry, who is healthy, per a source, after dealing with a knee injury, from the physically unable to perform list, it will impact the roster.
It’s a deep group headlined by Pro Bowl defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. The Texans would ideally like to keep younger defensive ends Dylan Horton and/or Solomon Byrd. It’s another difficult position group as far as decisions because of quality starters and depth and coached by Rod Wright and Frank Okam.
Plus, Foley Fatukasi and Derek Barnett are healthy and returned from the PUP list.
“Our defensive line has done an outstanding job all camp,” Ryans said. “Just to see the growth, the development of that room, coach Rod and coach Frank done a really nice job of working with all of our guys. You want to keep as many of those guys as possible, knowing how the season plays out. We have a long season ahead of us, so we just want to have as much flexibility there at the D-line spot.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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