Houston Texans Roster News: Texans Release Kenny Stills

Kenny Stills left the New England Patriots game last Sunday with a quadriceps injury. That same injury kept him out of Houston’s game against Detroit yesterday. Since he was acquired by the Texans as part of the Laremy Tunsil trade back in August of 2019, Stills has had a hard time getting regular work and consistent looks in a crowded wide receiver room.

Stills’ absence opened the door for Keke Coutee to come back into our lives. If you forgot, Coutee was placed in Bill O’Brien’s doghouse last season, was briefly let out against Baltimore in Week Two only to fumble, which led to a scoop and score touchdown by the Ravens. In the last two weeks, Coutee has seen the light of day again, and he’s made the most out of his opportunity so far. He’s played 63 snaps, posting 4 catches on 7 targets for 27 yards and a touchdown.

This may not seem like much, but it does mean a lot for a player who everyone had either written off entirely, o expected to be dealt or released. This little bit of production was apparently all general manager Jack Easterby needed to see—what a disgusting and shameful sentence—to make a more permanent move regarding Houston’s wide receiving corps. The Texans have released Stills.

Stills has done next to nothing this season as the Texans’ WR4. He has 11 catches on 19 targets for 144 yards and a touchdown. Theoretically, this should move should open the door for Coutee and Texans rookie wide receiver Isaiah Coulter, who has yet to play this year.

Stills should catch on somewhere, perhaps with a team that has a shot to make some noise in the NFL Playoffs.

Hopefully, and most importantly for the TExans, this move leads to Coutee and Coulter showing what they are capable of this season as Houston holds open tryouts for next season’s Texans squad.