The Houston Texans have already waived a rookie player

The Houston Texans aren’t waiting for anyone. At least not during the upcoming 2024 NFL season. The club has already waived a rookie draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, a sign that they’re not really waiting for things to happen, but rather looking to make things happen.

On July 17, 2024, the Texans announced that they had waived guard/offensive tackle LaDarius Henderson. Henderson was originally slated to suffer a non-football injury and has since been waived by the team. He is technically still on the team, but he is unable to practice or play until Week 5. The Texans are hoping to retain his rights despite this. There are exceptions in the NFL when waiving someone, such as Henderson. If a player is injured outside of the context of preparing for a game, or the game itself, a team can waive the player and retain his rights through the NFI.

The Non-Football Injury (NFI) list is exactly what its name implies, a list that players must be placed on after an injury outside of football events. Since Henderson is scheduled to undergo surgery for a broken foot, that qualifies him to be retained under that process. For now, that’s where he remains, on the NFI. He could be released at any time, however. If he is officially released, he will receive injury compensation.

This is one of the craziest things to see happen for the Texans, since Henderson was just selected in the 2018 draft.

He was an impressive offensive lineman out of Michigan, many were surprised he was taken by the Texans in the seventh round. He was considered a fringe player and someone who might fight for some time in a year or two. Yet now he’s going to fight to get back on the team.

He wasn’t the only notable name to be cut, as fellow rookie Jaxon Janke was also released. Jaxon made headlines when he and his brother Jadon (twins) were signed by the Texans as undrafted free agents. Currently, only Jadon remains on the team.