Houston Texans

The NFL continues to crack down on physical offseason practices, handing out fines to the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders, ESPN's Dan Graziano.

Texans coach Lovie Smith was reportedly fined $50,000 because of prohibited 1-on-1 OL vs. DL drills.

Commanders coach Ron Rivera was fined $100,000 because of excessive contact in practice drills. The team also loses two OTA practices in 2023 as a result of the infraction.

The news comes after Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was docked $100,000 for physical practices, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. The Cowboys will also lose a practice next year.

Earlier this month, the Chicago Bears were forced to cancel a practice after having live contact during their May organized team activities.

The collective bargaining agreement ratified in 2020 featured strict language on practice procedure, notably limiting the amount of padded practices during training camp while removing all padded practices during the regular season.

While coaches want to prepare their players for the season, the changes could help reduce practice-field injuries.

Smith is heading into his first season as the Texans' head coach after serving as the team's defensive coordinator last year. He last led an NFL team in 2015, spending five years at the college level coaching Illinois before joining the Texans.

Rivera is heading into his 12th straight year as a head coach, including his third in Washington. The former Carolina Panthers coach is 14-19 in two years at his current stop.

The Houston Texans will be listed as defendants in the 24 ongoing civil lawsuits accusing Cleveland Browns star Deshaun Watson of sexual assault or misconduct.

Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday the Texans "facilitated Deshaun Watson's conduct" and that the team "was well aware of Watson's issues, but failed to act."

This follows new reporting from the New York Times' Jenny Vrentas on Tuesday.

After the first civil suit was filed against Watson in March 2021, the Texans said they "became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night" and added that "this is the first time we heard of the matter."

However, Vrentas reported one woman who has since filed suit against Watson had multiple massage sessions with the quarterback in which he made sexual advances. The woman shared text messages from Watson on Instagram in November 2020 and wrote she "could really expose" him.

Per Vrentas, Watson said in a deposition that soon after the Instagram post he notified the Texans' director of security, Brent Naccara. Watson said Naccara left a nondisclosure agreement in his locker following that conversation. The three-time Pro Bowler proceeded to bring the NDA with him to massage appointments.

Vrentas also reported the Texans had obtained a membership for Watson at The Houstonian, a private hotel and club. He had multiple massages at that location, though he said he wasn't aware of the team knowing the massages were happening there.

"One woman who gave Watson a massage at The Houstonian said she was told the room was registered to a member of the Texans’ training staff," per Vrentas.

Since the franchise launched in 2002, the Texans have had a contracting agreement with Genuine Touch Massage Therapy. Vrentas reported four of the at least 66 women who had massage appointments with Watson between the fall of 2019 and spring of 2021 worked for Genuine Touch.

Although two grand juries in Texas declined to indict Watson on criminal charges in connection to the allegations, the civil suits remain ongoing. The 24th suit was filed Monday.

The 26-year-old is subject to potential punishment from the NFL as well since the league has yet to conclude its own investigation.

Cleveland Browns star Deshaun Watson received multiple massages at a private hotel and club for which the Houston Texans had provided him a membership, according to a New York Times investigation published Tuesday.

Per the Times' Jenny Vrentas, Watson said in a deposition he had some of his massage therapists sign a copy of a nondisclosure agreement that had been left in his locker by the Texans' director of security, Brent Naccara.

Rusty Hardin, Watson's lawyer, said the quarterback "continues to vehemently deny" the allegations that have led to 24 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault or misconduct during massage therapy sessions.

"We can say when the real facts are known this issue will appear in a different light," Hardin said.

Vrentas reported Watson set up massage appointments with at least 66 women between the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2021. While he was still a member of the team, the Texans indirectly helped facilitate the sessions:

It's unclear whether the Texans knew how many massages Watson was getting or who was providing them. But their resources helped support his massage habit away from the team. Watson acknowledged in a deposition that the Texans arranged for him to have 'a place' at The Houstonian. He used the fitness club, dined there and also set up massages in hotel rooms.

In March 2021, the Texans issued a statement saying they "became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night" and added that "this is the first time we heard of the matter."

However, Vrentas reported Nia Smith shared text messages from Watson on Instagram in November 2020 and said she "could really expose you" in reference to the three-time Pro Bowler after they had multiple massage sessions. Smith is among those who have filed suit, alleging he made continued sexual advances without her consent during sessions.

Watson said during a deposition he alerted Naccara about Smith's posts shortly after they surfaced. Following that conversation, Naccara supplied him with the NDA, which he began bringing to massage appointments.

Regarding his massage sessions at The Houstonian, Watson said to the best of his knowledge he didn't believe Texans officials knew of them happening. He also said the membership at the hotel was not under his name, and one woman who provided Watson with a massage at the hotel said "the room was registered to a member of the Texans' training staff," per Vrentas.

The investigation also reviewed communications between Hardin and prosecutors, including Johna Stallings, the Harris County (Texas) sex crimes prosecutor who was in charge of Watson's case. Former Harris County prosecutor Njeri Mathis Rutledge said the amount of contact between the two was "noteworthy."

Vrentas reported there was only one contact between prosecutors and the lawyers for the women suing Watson, though prosecutors did contact some of the women directly.

Although two grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal charges stemming from the sexual misconduct allegations this past March, his civil suits remain unresolved. He also remains subject to punishment from the NFL, which has yet to conclude its investigation.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in May the inquiry was "nearing its end," but that was before two more women came forward to file the 23rd and 24th suits against Watson.

Players from the Houston Texans are donating $200,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund, an official account to aid the families of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the site of last week's mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Texans owner Cal McNair is matching the donation, per NFL.com, bringing the total to $400,000.

The Dallas Cowboys and the NFL Foundation are combining to make the same donation as well:

"Well, it said exactly what we know on the inside—we have real, quality men that pay attention," Texans head coach Lovie Smith told reporters regarding the players' donation. "We want our team to be involved in what's happening in our world, in our country, and that's a way to show it."

The team also wore shirts on Wednesday in support of the victims of the Uvalde massacre and to raise awareness about gun violence:

"We want the world to know, we're here to help," Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey added. "We're not just football players."

McNair also released a statement about the donations.

"Texans care about Texans, especially in times of triumph and tragedy," he wrote. "I'm so proud of our players for championing this effort and was inspired to support our neighbors in Uvalde alongside them. I also know we have a great responsibility to lend our voices to important and meaningful conversations that bring awareness to senseless gun violence."

Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the United States, with 1,560 children and adolescents dying by guns in 2021 and 653 such deaths already in 2022.

Per a report from the University of San Francisco and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health studying data from 2015, "the U.S. accounted for almost 97 percent of the firearm deaths among children four years old or younger, and 92 percent of firearm deaths for those between the ages of five and 14" among 29 nations studied (h/t Laurel Wamsley of NPR).

The Houston Texans used the No. 3 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft to add an impact player to their defense, selecting LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

Despite missing most of the 2021 season, Stingley should slide immediately into the lineup for his new team in 2022. Here is the updated depth chart after the latest draft pick:

LDE: Ogbo Okoronkwo, Jordan Jenkins, Demone Harris

DT: Roy Lopez, Ross Blacklock, Michael Dwumfour

DT: Maliek Collins, Kingsley Keke

RDE: Jonathan Greenard, Derek Rivers

OLB:  Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Blake Cashman

ILB: Christian Kirksey, Neville Hewitt, Garret Wallow

OLB: Kamu Grugier-Hill, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Tae Davis

CB: Desmond King II, Tremon Smith, Reggie Robinson II

CB: Derek Stingley Jr., Lonnie Johnson Jr., Jimmy Moreland, Isaac Yiadom

FS: Terrence Brooks, Jonathan Owens 

SS: Eric Murray, Grayland Arnold

Depth chart info provided by Ourlads and Over the Cap.

The cornerback played just three games last season at LSU before being sidelined by a foot injury that cost him the rest of the year. The injury originally occurred in the summer, but Stingley underwent a procedure after struggling through the first few weeks.

Though some might have questions about the transition to the NFL after essentially a lost season, both Micah Parsons and Ja'Marr Chase showed an elite player can star even after missing a whole year at the college level.

Stingley has long been targeted as a first-round pick, coming into college as 247Sports' No. 3 recruit in the 2019 class before starring as a true freshman at LSU. The cornerback started all 15 games in his first year with the Tigers, tallying six interceptions en route to becoming a consensus All-American.

He was one of the top defensive players on a team that went 15-0 and won the College Football Playoff national championship.

Stingley's 2020 season wasn't quite as dominant as teams learned to avoid throwing in his direction, but he was still named first-team All-SEC despite finishing with zero interceptions.

At 6'0", 190 pounds, the cornerback has ideal size for the position and enough speed to match up with nearly anyone in the league.

Bleacher Report's Scouting Department listed Stingley as the top cornerback in the class and fourth-best overall.

If he plays to his potential, Stingley could give the Texans an instant boost in pass defense heading into 2022. 

The squad ranked 31st in the NFL in yards allowed last season and 27th in points allowed, meaning the team needs immediate talent to turn things around after producing a 4-13 record in 2021.