Texans sign veteran DT after placing Kyonte Hamilton on IR

An injury to seventh-round rookie defensive tackle Kyonte Hamilton led to a successful surgery on Friday, and the Texans have already found his replacement, signing veteran defensive tackle Marlon Davidson, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. With Hamilton hitting injured reserve after the surgery, Davidson’s spot on the roster was earned after a successful workout with the team.

Hamilton, a productive interior lineman at Rutgers last year, was carted off the field Wednesday with what appeared to be a significant lower leg injury. After being diagnosed with a fractured ankle and getting scheduled for surgery, it was determined that Hamilton was destined for IR with a potential four-month recovery on deck.

Davidson comes in as the next man up. After appearing in only eight games as a rookie, the second-round pick out of Auburn’s role grew quite a bit in Year 2. Despite a few spurts of absences forcing him to miss six more games, Davidson found himself with a much larger snap share. In a Week 2 matchup, he recorded his first sack on Tom Brady, and in a Week 13 rematch, Davidson recorded a pick-six off the arm of the future Hall of Famer.

Davidson’s NFL career has come crashing down ever since. Before the start of the 2022 NFL season, Davidson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and was placed on IR. Already on the roster bubble due to his frequent absences, Davidson was cut by the team the following month. He rebounded in the offseason, signing with the 49ers, but was relegated to the practice squad after failing to make the initial 53-man roster and was released four weeks into the season.

Once again, Davidson found a new spot on the Titans’ practice squad. He would get called up to the active roster near the end of the season and ended up starting the final three games of 2023 in Tennessee. The Titans re-signed him in the offseason, but they placed him on IR with a biceps tear in the preseason. He remained there the entirety of the 2024 season.

Now he’ll get another chance in Houston. As Hamilton goes down for the next for months, Davidson comes in to fill out the position group during training camp. If he wants any chance at making the 53-man roster to stay with the Texans, he’s going to have to show he can stay healthy.