LOS ANGELES – The Texans elevated fullback Jakob Johnson from the practice squad and will go with two pure tight ends on the active roster for Sunday’s season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
When the Texans released Johnson and signed him to the practice squad, they did so with the understanding he would be elevated for games.
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Signing with the Texans reunited him with former New England Patriots tight ends and fullbacks coach Nick Caley, the Texans’ new offensive coordinator.
Caley, his position coach in New England, once nicknamed Johnson, a native of Germany, the “German Tank.”
“Any time you can see the big guy get out in the open field, he got to use the stiff arm there,” Caley once said of the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Stuttgart, Germany native.
Johnson has 19 career receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. He has 11 career tackles.
Johnson has also played for the Las Vegas Raiders. He played in three games last season for the New York Giants.
Johnson, 30, was initially signed by the Patriots as part of the NFL International Player Pathway program. He was previously with the Stuttgart Scorpions in the German Football League.
He played collegiately at Tennessee as a linebacker and was an All-Southeastern Conference academic honor roll selection.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com .