Texans Cut Two Injured Defenders Weeks Before Training Camp
Texans Cut Two Injured Defenders Weeks Before Training Camp
The Houston Texans have waived a pair of defenders from their roster. Here's what to know.Jared Koch|
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Houston TexansThe Houston Texans are still three weeks away from getting their training camp action off and rolling, but it hasn't stopped them from making a couple of roster moves in the off-months of the NFL calendar.
Per the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan M. Alexander, the Texans have waived both cornerback Ajani Carter and defensive end Xavier Thomas from the reserve/injured list.
The #Texans have waived DB Ajani Carter and DE Xavier Thomas, per the team.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) July 1, 2026
Both players had been on the injured list dating back to May earlier this offseason. Carter had been with the team since before the 2025 season, and Thomas was an addition via a futures contract earlier in December.
However, it seems like the Texans wanted to cut ties with both in the days that remain ahead of camp.
While both players were on the reserve/injured list, they were still accounted for on Houston's 90-man roster, meaning that the release of both now clears the way for the team to sign a couple of free agents in those spots.
As to how the Texans decide to use those roster vacancies remains to be seen. They could even decide to re-sign either Carter or Thomas before camp, if they felt there was a place for either as potential competition to find a spot on the practice squad.
But to this point, the signs seem to point in the direction of a departure for both.
What the Texans Are Losing in Ajani Carter & Xavier Thomas
Both of Carter and Thomas were bound to face an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster spot heading into camp, but had been a part of the Texans roster at least dating back to January of this year.
In Carter's case, he appeared in two games of the Texans' 2025 season as a UDFA pickup out of Houston, primarily playing a special teams role for those showings, and logging a total of 36 snaps on that end in games against the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills in Weeks 11 and 12.
As for Thomas, he had actually spent the prior two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before joining the Texans’ roster earlier this year. He was a fifth-round selection at the 138th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Thomas has played 18 career games in his two years pro, as both a depth piece on the defensive side of the ball and on special teams.
He saw over 200 snaps on defense during his rookie campaign in 2024, but saw a significant decrease in opportunity during his sophomore season, playing in only four games and landing a combined 57 snaps between both defense and special teams.
So in reality, it was bound to take a lot out of either to find a spot on the Texans' 53-man roster this coming season; especially with how talented and deep this group expects to be on the defense, and even more so if both were to be dealing with injury rolling into camp.
Perhaps Thomas could've been worth a look as a depth piece at defensive end, considering the questions that the Texans have faced around who will back up Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. However, the Houston brass has seemingly seen enough out of him to let him find a new opportunity.
Now, the speculation can start to run wild about how the Texans might be able to use those two new roster spots in the weeks ahead of camp. Maybe it could be used on two well-known veterans to patch up any remaining holes around the roster, or some lower-cost, younger options could be in play as well.
Regardless, it's an eye-catching shakeup to have been made to the Texans roster during a time in the offseason calendar where not much activity seems to take place.
Published 8 minutes ago
JARED KOCHJared Koch is the Publisher of Houston Texans On SI. He has covered the NFL & NBA with On SI since 2023, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.
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Dad Notices A Strange Shadow On Skylight — Then Saves An Entire Fluffy Family
Dad Notices A Strange Shadow On Skylight — Then Saves An Entire Fluffy Family
“We couldn’t believe it.”
By Ashley OrtizPublished on July 1, 2026 at 5:48 PMA somber hush fell across Charlene Jackson’s house on the morning of April 26, as her family quietly showered their 12-year-old dog, Caddie, with love. It was Caddie's final day with them, and they were all filled with grief over having to say goodbye to her the following morning.
The family was gathered around their beloved dog when Charlene’s husband suddenly entered the room, urging them to follow him into the office. He’d spotted a large, dark figure on the skylight and realized an adorable fluffy family had come to visit.
“He was working in his home office when he heard noise above him,” Charlene told The Dodo. “He looked up, and there they were! We couldn’t believe it.”

The Jacksons ran into the office and were shocked to find a mama cat curled up on the skylight with a handful of kittens, especially with the weather they’d recently had.
“It had been raining for a few days before, and it was chilly,” Charlene said. “The sun was finally out, so they must have been on the skylight to get warm.”

Without skipping a beat, the entire Jackson family rushed to help the mama cat and her babies. They initially carried a kennel, food and water onto the roof and planned to let the cats rest for a little while. But after watching one of the kittens stumble into a drainage opening, they rescued him and quickly decided to bring the feral family down to safer ground.
Thankfully, the little fluffy family didn’t put up much of a fight when being relocated.
“Mama was very friendly and allowed us to pick her up and pet her,” Charlene said. “The kittens were very frightened, but we managed to get them all, so we thought, and bring them down.”

The Jacksons made a small enclosure for the cats outside, where Mama cat could come and go as she pleased, while her kittens rested safely. But shortly after moving the little family into the enclosure, Charlene and her husband realized one tiny kitten had been left behind.
“We had Mama and 4 kittens but realized after watching the videos there were 5 kittens,” Charlene said. “We couldn’t find the 5th one anywhere. We thought it was lost for good.”
Sadly, the Jacksons didn’t find the missing kitten that night, but they promised to keep searching. The following morning, they said a heart-wrenching goodbye to their ailing dog, Caddie, then sought comfort in cuddles with their remaining senior pup, Lulu, and the little cat family.
“It felt like the kittens and mama were sent to us to help us heal,” Charlene said.
You can watch more of their rescue here:
Thankfully, less than 24 hours later, they found the missing kitten alive after surviving two days on her own in a roof gutter.
The Jacksons breathed a sigh of relief as they reunited her with the rest of the little family, convinced the cats' stressful rescue journey was finally over. But the next morning, the mama cat came racing toward Charlene and Lulu outside in a panic, proving it wasn't over just yet.

At first, Charlene thought the mama cat was hungry, so she set out a fresh bowl of food. But the mama cat ignored the food and kept scratching the Jacksons’ patio door.
“I thought it was strange, so I went out to see what she wanted,” Charlene said. “ I looked into the pen and found only 2 kitties. 3 had escaped.”

Charlene’s heart dropped. Panicked, she and her husband searched everywhere for the escaped kittens but couldn’t find them anywhere. And it seemed that the mama cat was just as desperate for their help.
“Every time we stopped or came inside to take a break, Mama scratched at the door,” Charlene said. “She was insisting we find them. She even led us up a pathway several times. It was very deliberate.”
The Jacksons followed the mama cat up the pathway, continuing to search for hours, but kept coming up empty-handed. They decided to follow Mama one last time, and she suddenly leaped from the path onto a covered pile of wood and stared at them.
“We were quiet and heard rustling,” Charlene said. “All 3 kitties were together and had fallen down to the bottom of the wood pile and were stuck. They were about 4 feet down.”

Charlene and her family took apart the wood pile until each kitten was out safely, eventually deciding to move everyone inside.

The kittens spent the next few weeks growing and playing inside the Jackson home, while Mama relaxed on one of her many new beds. Eventually, the kittens were old enough to be adopted, and two quickly found amazing homes.
At first, the Jacksons decided not to keep any of the cats, as they already had two senior dogs with deteriorating health conditions. But after losing Caddie the day after the cats’ rescue, and then their beloved Lulu a little over a month later, they realized they couldn’t part ways with the remaining cats. So, they adopted Mama and the last three kittens, whom they named Spicy, Stevie and Nicksy.

Now that Mama and her babies are officially part of the family, the Jacksons’ days couldn’t be brighter. Still healing from the heartbreak of losing their soul dogs, the Jacksons turn to the little cat family for comfort every day — and they can’t imagine life without them now.
“This family of kitties and mama have really helped us heal,” Charlene said.