The Houston Texans have added a depth piece to their wide receiver room just a few days ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans––doing so by adding a pass-catcher who played in Tennessee a little less than two months ago.
According to an announcement from the Texans, the team has signed wide receiver Bryce Oliver to the 53-man roster.
Oliver is actually a recent part of the Texans’ practice squad as well, considering he was in the facility for a two-week stretch in September. Houston added him as a part of the practice squad following his release from the Titans on cutdown day, yet the Texans would also release him on September 30th.
Fast forward to right ahead of Week 5, and the Texans seemingly wanted to bring Oliver back onboard, thus offering another layer of depth at the position, and even someone who was a part of the opposition for the past couple of years.
What WR Bryce Oliver Brings to the Texans
Oliver, 26, is a 6-foot-1, 214-pound wideout in his third year pro, and was a pretty regular piece of the Titans’ receiver room for two years from 2024 to 2025.
An undrafted product out of Youngstown State, Oliver has played in 13 games throughout his NFL career thus far, all of those coming in Tennessee.
He’s played in over 200 combined offensive and special teams snaps from his two years stationed there, and has hauled in seven receptions on 10 targets for 103 yards. He’s also recorded three kick returns for 113 yards in 2024.
So he’s not exactly the most experienced pass-catcher at the NFL level just yet. Most of his offensive production stems from his college days at Youngstown State. However, the Texans saw some value in him to bring him back aboard to their main roster, and clearly have a role in mind for him.
Oliver’s signing now makes for the Texans’ second practice squad reunion of the week, considering the front office opted to bring back quarterback Mark Gronkowski on Wednesday, thus giving this depth chart a third signal caller to lean on.
Why the Texans Might Have Signed Bryce Oliver
Heading into the Texans’ Week 5 game against Tennessee, they had five wide receivers on their active roster before bringing in Oliver. Now, that total rises to six, and feels like a sign that the former Titans wideout will be primarily commanding special teams duties.
The Texans already have a solid dose of receivers on the roster due for their respective reps on the offensive side: Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel, and Kayshon Boutte easily rise above him, and maybe even Jared Wayne.
There’s also Tank Dell, who’s presence on the team simply can’t be ignored at this point in the season. He’s officially seen his 21-day return window activated from injured reserve, hinting at Houston’s wide receiver room will likely have another target to roster here in the coming weeks.
So for Oliver to make an impact, that gravity will have to come from outside of the offensive side of the ball and onto the special teams side. Or, he’ll simply have to be moved up the depth chart in the event of any injury above him, which has yet to be reported within the wide receiver room as of Wednesday’s injury report.
His first opportunity to do so will also come against the team he started his career with in Tennessee on Sunday at 12 PM MT, if he is indeed activated for game day.
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