O.J. Howard Injury Updates | Shark Bites

The Texans released TE Pharaoh Brown. He missed Week 4 with a shoulder injury but led Houston TEs in pass routes in Weeks 2 and 3. The Texans are now down to TE Brevin Jordan, who's missed the last 2 games with an ankle injury, TE O.J. Howard, who is coming off a 65% route rate and 14% target share this past week, and TE Jordan Akins. Howard is worth stashing in deeper fantasy leagues.

The Bills are releasing TE O.J. Howard, according to multiple reports. This might be the end of NFL relevance for the once-promising former 1st-round pick who dealt with multiple significant injuries through his 5 years with the Bucs. Howard signed a 1-year deal with Buffalo this offseason but has been working behind lesser-known TEs throughout the preseason.

The Bills signed TE O.J. Howard to a 1-year deal. It has a $3.5 million base value that can climb to $5 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The relative cheapness of the contract points to where Howard's career is at. The 19th overall pick of the 2017 draft dealt with ankle, foot and hamstring injuries over his first 3 seasons but averaged 15.5 yards per catch and scored 12 TDs. A torn Achilles ended his 2020 season in Week 4, though, and Howard caught just 14 balls behind Rob Gronkowski this past year. Still, he's just 27 with a strong pedigree. And he lands in a top-notch Bills offense. TE Dawson Knox is the incumbent in Buffalo, coming off a career-best 49-587-9 line in his 3rd season. But we imagine that this will be an open competition for the starting job this summer.

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski (ribs) remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice. That's not a good start for his chances of returning for this weekend's game vs. the Bears. TE O.J. Howard was also sidelined on Wednesday with an ankle injury. We'll get another update on both guys tomorrow.