Texans sign veteran WRs Sterling Shepard and Zay Jones following Jayden Higgins ACL tear

The Houston Texans are reshaping their receiving corps in the wake of a devastating injury. After placing rookie wideout Jayden Higgins on season-ending injured reserve with a torn ACL, Houston is signing veteran receivers Sterling Shepard and Zay Jones, according to multiple NFL reporters.

The move came less than a day after Higgins' injury was confirmed. Garafolo and RapSheet reported the agreements in tandem, noting both receivers impressed during a Friday workout in Houston. The Texans also brought in former Jet Josh Reynolds for the same session, but he was not part of the initial signings.

Losing Higgins leaves a serious hole. The 2025 second-round pick out of Iowa State had emerged as a downfield and red-zone threat, and coach DeMeco Ryans called him one of the team's best players before the injury. Quarterback C.J. Stroud said the loss "sucks" and that "you can't just replace a guy like that."

Shepard, 33, is a seasoned slot target who spent the last two seasons with the Buccaneers after eight years with the Giants. He has 443 career receptions for 4,800 yards and 25 touchdowns. Jones, 31, is a bigger outside receiver (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) who tore his Achilles in November and was later placed on IR; he caught a career-high 82 passes for 823 yards with Jacksonville in 2022 and has also played for the Bills, Raiders and Cardinals.

Houston has also made exploratory trade calls — with targets reportedly including Baltimore's Rashod Bateman and New England's Kayshon Boutte — though there is no momentum toward a deal, per league sources. With one preseason game left (next Friday vs. Carolina), the Texans are moving quickly to add experience to a thinned room.