THIS IS HUGE
How Texans face uphill battle after big losses before pivotal Chiefs matchup
Jan 14, 2025, 3:34 pm
THIS IS HUGE
It's no secret that the Texans' offense hasn't been the same since Stefon Diggs went down with an ACL injury midseason. To make matters even worse, Houston lost Tank Dell for the year, suffering a catastrophic knee injury against the Chiefs just a few weeks ago.
In an attempt to replace that production, the Texans took a flier on the talented and temperamental Diontae Johnson, who has worn out his welcome with now four NFL teams.
That's right. Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Texans have cut Johnson and elevated Jared Wayne from the practice squad.
When Diontae Johnson, now cut by #Texans, was with #Ravens he was suspended for conduct detrimental for refusing to play. After games, if he wasn't involved to his liking, he was highly upset and had to be calmed down. Pattern continued in Houston and now he's off his third #NFL… https://t.co/wF3WnRfBvg
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 14, 2025
This move is disappointing on so many levels. Houston desperately needs a playmaker to pair with Nico Collins, that's why they took a chance on the disgruntled receiver to begin with.
And while it's fair to blame Johnson for displaying displeasure about his role in a playoff game in which his team won, there are two sides to every story.
I certainly don't put this on the Texans. Johnson has proven many times to be a bad teammate, and who wants to deal with that during a playoff push?
But the Texans did only target Johnson one time in the game, which he caught and led to a field goal. While receiver John Metchie got most of the playing time despite losing a fumble on the first offensive possession of the game, costing the Texans three points.
Metchie almost had another fumble shortly after the first one, but luckily the refs ruled an incomplete pass on the play. My guess is Johnson correctly thought he was a better option than Metchie, who hasn't done anything of significance at this point in his NFL career, and was playing like the moment was too big for him.
As Metchie was making mistakes, I found myself looking for Diontae on the field and wondering why he wasn't getting more opportunities with Metchie looking like a disaster.
What's even more concerning was Nico Collins not receiving a target until the second quarter, but that's a story for another day.
As we look back at the stat sheet, Johnson was only on the field for 16 snaps, by far the fewest of Texans receivers. Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson played a much bigger role than he did.
If the Texans could do things over, planning to get the ball to Collins and Johnson early could have gotten the offense rolling, instead of waiting for the broken play that sparked CJ Stroud and the offense in the second quarter.
But instead, the former Pro Bowler had almost no role in the game, complained about it following a huge win, and is now off the team.
He could have been a very valuable asset against the Chiefs, who will likely take away Collins, forcing Stroud to go to his other options. Now, those options will be players that couldn't crack the starting lineup on any decent team.
Plus, tight end Cade Stover broke his collarbone against the Chargers, and has been placed on IR. It might not seem like a big deal losing Stover, after all, he hasn't been a very big piece of the offense this year.
But he hauled in four passes against the Chargers, the second-most on the team, tied with Metchie. Which also shows you how much Houston needs help at receiver.
At the end of the day, the friction with Johnson probably couldn't have been avoided. It's hard to get newly acquired players comfortable with a new offense and quarterback. Especially if he has an attitude.
But the Texans did know his frustration with the Ravens was all about his role, or lack there of. One can't help but wonder what might have been had the Texans decided to get him the ball early, to try to get some buy-in from a talented player they desperately needed.
There's a reason Jared Wayne (who collided with Dell in KC, ending his season) is being added from the practice squad, and Johnson is a former Pro Bowler.
And kudos to Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans for taking a chance on Johnson. Often, this franchise has avoided rolling the dice on a volatile player.
They gave it a shot, it didn't work, and they cut him. It was a low risk move worth trying that didn't pay off. And for Johnson, good luck finding another team.
This dude clearly prioritizes complaining over winning football games. Have fun explaining your antics to other teams when trying to get a contract next season. If you can't play for John Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans, that says a lot about the player.
Yandy Díaz hit a three-run homer, among Tampa Bay's four home runs in the game, and the Rays beat the Houston Astros 8-4 on Wednesday to win their three-game series.
Díaz's shot in the bottom of the eighth followed Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe homering back-to-back in the fifth and Curtis Mead's first of the season in the fourth.
All four homers were hit off Hunter Brown (6-3), who had allowed just two homers in his nine previous starts.
Taj Bradley (4-3), who gave up a two-run homer to Isaac Paredes in the first, went six innings, allowing just those two runs. Paredes had two home runs in the loss, and now has 10 on the season.
Paredes on a tear!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/jj37iei6i8
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 21, 2025
Rays manager Kevin Cash was ejected for the first time this season in the top of the eighth inning. After the Astros cut the Rays’ lead to a run on a home run from Mauricio Dubón and a second homer from Paredes, Yainer Diaz was called out on a checked swing. The Astros called for a review, saying the ball hit Diaz. Cash was arguing it shouldn’t be reviewed. The call was confirmed.
Yandy Díaz celebrated playing in his 800th career game, 711 with the Rays, with his seventh home run of 2025. He is the 33rd Cuban-born player to play in 800 major league games, including the sixth active player with Aroldis Chapman (817), Yasmani Grandal (1,307), Yuli Gurriel (943), Jose Iglesias (1,212) and Jorge Soler (1,056).
The Rays send right-hander Drew Rasmussen (2-4, 2.93 ERA) to the mound against the Toronto Blue Jays at home Friday night.
The Astros head home to open a key divisional series Thursday against the Mariners. Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 7.88 ERA) will make his fourth start since the 2022 playoffs after a rocky return from the injured list.