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With all the injuries to the TE position in the wake of the Week One beatdown at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Texans are looking to shore up the position by possibly bringing in veteran Gary Barnidge. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Barnidge was slated to meet with the Texans today.
Veteran tight end Gary Barnidge is meeting with the Texans today, according to a source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 15, 2017
Barnidge, who will turn 32 later this month, spent the last four seasons with the Cleveland Browns after four seasons with the Carolina Panthers. In 2015, Barnidge was a Pro Bowl selection, notching 79 catches for 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns.
He’s been durable throughout his career, appearing in 16 games in six of his eight seasons and never appearing in less than 13.
I don’t think I’d be out of line in saying Barnidge would instantly become the best tight end on the Texans’ roster. Clearly the Texans disagree, or he’d already be on the team...unless he’s looking for crazy money.
With C.J. Fiedorowicz on Injured Reserve for the foreseeable future after suffering a concussion (his second since near the end of training camp), and fellow tight ends Ryan Griffin and Stephen Anderson also in the league’s concussion protocol, the Texans are in desperate need at the position. To stop the bleeding at least temporarily, the Texans brought TE Evan Baylis up from the Practice Squad for yesterday’s game; unlike his tattoos, Baylis’ game is not NFL ready.
Now with more than a three-day window to prepare for the next game against the Patriots on September 24th, the Texans can address some of their issues and perhaps have any new acquisitions realistically ready to go for Week Three.
Offensive linemen meetings, anyone? Any uh... any workouts scheduled? Hmm?
Offensive coordinators? No? We, uh... we good? Okay.