Who Should I Start? Maurice Alexander or Xavier Johnson

Friday, January 31, 10:48 PM

The Chicago Bears signed free-agent wide receiver Maurice Alexander to a Reserve/Futures deal on Friday, according to KPRC's Aaron Wilson. New head coach Ben Johnson is poaching Alexander from the Detroit Lions after the 28-year-old spent the last three years in Detroit. The former undrafted free agent out of Florida International has only appeared in four NFL games, though, with all of them coming back in 2022. In his four games for the Lions, he caught his only target for a gain of seven yards. Alexander will head to Chicago with a firm grasp of Johnson's offensive concepts, although he will still be a long shot to make the 53-man active roster to begin the 2025 season out of training camp. He will most likely stick on Chicago's practice squad next season.

Wednesday, January 22, 7:23 PM

The Houston Texans announced on Wednesday that they signed wide receivers Xavier Johnson and Johnny Johnson III, guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr., cornerbacks Anthony Averett and Gregory Junior, defensive end Solomon Byrd, running backs Jawhar Jordan and J.J. Taylor, defensive tackle Jayden Peevy, quarterback Kedon Slovis and safety Russ Yeast to Reserve/Futures deals. Johnson signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency last offseason but was cut before the start of the regular season before latching on with Houston's practice squad in 2024. The 25-year-old Cincinnati native was never elevated to the Texans' active 53-man roster during the regular season and has yet to make his debut in the NFL. Johnson will now continue his development in Houston and will hope to make the active roster out of training camp this summer.