HOUSTON – Inside the Texans’ practice field and meeting rooms, there’s a serious competition afoot.
The Texans are waging a punter battle between veteran Kai Kroeger and strong-legged rookie Jack Stonehouse to find the replacement for former punter Tommy Townsend, now with the Tennessee Titans.
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Kroeger was the New Orleans Saints’ punter last season and was acquired in an offseason trade, a swap of a 2028 sixth-round pick from the Texans in exchange for Kroeger and a 2028 seventh-round selection.
Stonehouse went undrafted out of Syracuse and signed a rookie free agent deal that includes $75,000 guaranteed.
A former undrafted free agent from South Carolina where he was an All-American selection and All-Southeastern Conference selection, Kroeger averaged 44.8 yards for the Saints. He had 18 punts land inside opponents’ 20-yard lines. He had two blocked punts, impacting his average.
An All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection at Syracuse who averaged a school-record 47.1 yards per punt last season, Stonehouse had a long punt of 64 yards last season.
“Each guy has their own skill set,” Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross said. “Jack has a really, really strong leg. He’s raw and needs time to develop. Kai Kroeger has a year in the NFL. Extremely fluid, extremely athletic, with some ups and downs as every rookie goes through. So, he got a chance to flush through some of those, and his launch point now is a clean slate with me and the Texans.
“As far as sorting it out, man, somebody’s got to take that job. I want whoever it is on our football team, running and covering the kicks, blocking for the kicker, rushing a field goal, or punting the football, I want somebody to go take that job and take it aggressively. It’s an even competition until somebody separates themselves out.”
Stonehouse, whose father and cousin played in the NFL, had six touchbacks, and 25 fair catches. He set a school career record with a 45.8 yards per punt average.
Stonehouse went to the NFL scouting combine and East-West Shrine Bowl. He participated in the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers’ local prospect days and met privately with the San Francisco 49ers. A Missouri transfer, his average hang time was 4.29 seconds, fourth in the nation.
Stonehouse has shown a lot of power and distance so far, but it’s early in the competition. The preseason games will likely be a major determining factor in the winner.
“For Jack,we saw a guy that’s very consistent,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of Stonehouse, the third-highest graded punter in the nation last year. “He has a very strong leg. He does a great job of booting the ball. He had a really good first day today. You can hear the ball coming off his foot. That’s the thing that stood out about him today.”
“Having that healthy competition is only going to make that position better when it comes to the punter position,” Ryans said. “We’ve got Kai Kai’s done it in the league and now adding Jack is going to be really healthy competition coming through training camp.”
The Texans have back Ka’imi Fairbairn on an extension that averages $6.5 million annually as one of the highest paid kickers in the league.
Fairbairn tied David Akers’ NFL record with 44 field goals last season.
“Watching him him grow has been it’s part of the reason that the Texans are at the launch point we’re at right now,” Ross said. “Proud of where he is.
Long snapper Austin Brinkman returns after a strong rookie season as the replacement for Jon Weeks.
“Austin Brinkman, super proud,” Ross said. “He’s changed his body for the better, so very proud of that, the process. Nobody’s doing it, he’s doing that work.”
The Texans added former starting running back Woody Marks to the mix as a kickoff returner candidate, joining primary returner Jaylin Noel. The Texans plan to have two kickoff returners. Marks, the leading rusher for the Texans last season, could wind up as the main kickoff returners and third-down back behind starter David Montgomery
“Who do you want back there?” Ross said. “I want a fast player, right? Good vision, good ball security, but I want guys that can do it on repeat, sustain running through the smoke with physicality and falling forward. Receivers don’t necessarily run in the trash as much as running backs.
“So having a guy like Woody to be in our depth and as potentially a starter if he can win that job, man, that really benefits our team. Woody’s been dynamic with his running skill set. Now let’s continue to master fielding the ball, running your tracks, and setting up your blockers.”
Noel has run the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds. He averaged 10.8 yards per punt return as a rookie and 27.6 yards per kickoff return.
And he’s been tutored this spring by former NFL All-Pro returner Darren Sproles, who’s with the Texans on a Bill Walsh coaching fellowship.
“You can’t coach speed, right?” Ross said. “Dynamic speed. We’re going to start there, and that’s going to make up for a lot of it. Jaylin Noel is tougher than his size or stature may look. I don’t get star stuck very often, but that was unique for me.
“What he and I have been talking about is how can we get Jaylin to slow down instead of try to circle everybody like he’s been doing his whole life. We’ve been doing some drills with him, and he is tough, and he is a worker and willing to listen. Everything that we’ve asked to learn how to cut vertically, he’s been working on. So, I think you’re going to see dividends of that come this season.”
The Texans signed a formidable special-teams contributor during free agency, adding linebacker Jack Hummel on a two-year, $4.75 million deal.
“One my favorite things now is pulling from that bag when I’m watching and preparing for opponents, I’m evaluating what we have to defend or stop,” Ross said. “We played against that guy. Man, he was good. You talk to your players, ‘Hey, what was he like to go against? That guy’s a horse.’ So, when we’re playing against Baltimore a year ago, when we’re watching the Rams tape from Jake Hummel, he shows up, and it’s hard for our guys to go against him.
“So, when we’re game planning for that specific player a year ago and he comes up in free agency and then he gets in your building. So, fired up to have him. He gets in your building, and he’s everything I could ask for: Super hard worker, cares about the kicking game, wants to get better on defense, going to contribute to the Texans’ recipe on football Sundays to get a win. Sign me up. Just proud and happy to have him here. He’s done a great job this spring. Fired up for Hummel.”
The Texans added rookie linebackers Wade Woodaz and Aiden Fisher in the fourth round and seventh round, respectively. Both are slated for special teams duties.
“Just watch the tape and watch the tenacity and ferocity those two play with,” Ross said. “Those two guys have done an outstanding job of setting their own table up for success by building good habits. Man, they’re meeting with the special teams coach extra. They’re staying after.
“I’m sweating and getting in the rain because I’m staying after doing work on the field with one of those rookie linebackers. That, to me, is how you build your team. Those guys have done it at the highest level of college football. Excited to see where they can go. Sign me up for those guys.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com