Houston Texans sign Ryan Pickett, place Louis Nix on IR

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The Houston Texans got a steal in this year’s draft when they picked up the sliding Louis Nix, who had an exceptional career at Notre Dame that caused him to receive some Vince Wilfork comparisons. Nix, however, hasn’t been unable to show his stuff in the NFL, as he needed arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason and has been inactive for each of the Texans first three games.

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Today, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Texans have placed Nix on the injured reserve and have signed veteran 3-4 defensive end Ryan Pickett to take his place on the team’s active roster. The Texans worked Pickett out yesterday, so this move was always in the works. Per McClain, Nix never got back to full strength after his knee surgery, and we can only hope that the rookie can get healthy, stay healthy, and play up to his potential.

Pickett still has something left in the tank at the age of 34, even if it isn’t much. He won’t be able to push the pocket as much as he used to, but the former Green Bay Packers high-end starter will be a quality run-stuffer in the Texans defensive line rotation. He recorded 21 tackles last season and is clearly best off as a veteran backup at this stage in his career.