Who Should I Start? Irv Smith Jr. or Harrison Bryant

Tuesday, September 17, 10:22 PM

The Houston Texans signed free-agent tight end Irv Smith and former starting center Scott Quessenberry to their practice squad on Tuesday following successful tryouts, according to league sources. Smith, a former second-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings out of Alabama, will give Houston more depth at the TE position behind Dalton Schultz, Brevin Jordan and rookie Cade Stover. He has 109 career receptions for 973 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career with the Vikings, Bengals and Chiefs, but injuries have really held him back from reaching his true ceiling. Texans center Juice Scruggs (groin), who missed the Week 2 win over the Bears on Sunday night, is on track to return this week against the Vikings, but Quessenberry will give the team more depth at the position. Quessenberry started for Houston two seasons ago when Justin Britt stepped away for personal reasons.

Wednesday, November 20, 9:48 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Harrison Bryant (ankle) was labeled as a DNP on Wednesday for the team's first practice of the week. Bryant did not suit up for the Raiders' Week 11 outing against the Miami Dolphins, and it's the third time he was listed as a non-participant dating back to last Wednesday while battling through an ankle injury. Second-year tight end Michael Mayer returned to action against Miami after a lengthy absence and participated in 52% of Las Vegas' snaps, so it's likely that when Bryant is active, he'll be back to playing third fiddle in the TE room. Still, with standout rookie tight end Brock Bowers garnering 26.4% of the team's targets, Mayer and Bryant will just be vying for the scraps.