Who Should I Start? Damiere Byrd or Christian Kirk

Wednesday, January 17, 12:31 PM

The Houston Texans signed free-agent veteran wide receiver Damiere Byrd to their practice squad on Wednesday. Byrd was released from the Atlanta Falcons' practice squad in late November after playing in just one game for the team in Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, when he failed to catch either of his two targets while playing 19 offensive snaps. In 14 games for the Falcons in 2022, he caught 13 of his 23 targets for 268 yards and two touchdowns. The 30-year-old will give the Texans some extra receiver depth for their Divisional Round game this Saturday after they placed Noah Brown (shoulder) on Injured Reserve earlier in the week. Byrd has played in 76 NFL games (28 starts) over eight seasons and has 130 catches for 1,689 yards and seven touchdowns in his career.

Tuesday, April 16, 4:30 PM

Veteran wide receiver Rashard Higgins and linebacker Christian Kirksey are signing one-day contracts with the Cleveland Browns to retire with the organization, the team announced on Tuesday. Higgins was selected by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft and racked up 137 receptions for 1,890 yards and 12 touchdowns in 82 games from 2016 to 2021. He spent the 2022 season with the Carolina Panthers but did not log a snap. Kirkey was a 2014 third-round pick by the Browns and played for the team until 2019 before brief stints with the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills. Overall, he secured 779 tackles, 16.5 sacks, seven interceptions, and 34 passes defended in 114 career games.