Who Should I Start? Irv Smith Jr. or Josiah Deguara

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.

Thursday, March 28, 2:21 PM

Former Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara signed an undisclosed one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday, according to a source. Deguara will head to the AFC after spending the first four years of his NFL career playing for the Packers. Green Bay took him in the third round (94th overall) in 2020 out of Cincinnati. In his four years with the team, he recorded 47 catches on 58 targets for 436 yards and only two touchdowns in 50 games played (10 starts). In 15 regular-season games (four starts) in 2023, the 27-year-old caught just eight passes for 65 yards and no scores. Deguara will mostly be useful to the Jaguars for his blocking skills on offense and on special teams, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to make an impact catching the ball behind Evan Engram, the team's top pass-catching tight end.