Texans Sign Rookie Kicker Chris Freeman: Why Houston Added Him

The Houston Texans are making a signing at kicker.

According to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan M. Alexander, the Texans are bringing in rookie kicker Chris Freeman to their 90-man roster.

The #Texans have signed rookie kicker Chris Freeman, while waiving WR Montrell Washington.

This will allow Houston to give K Ka'imi Fairbairn a break.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) August 12, 2026

In a corresponding move, the Texans also released recently-signed wide receiver Montrell Washington, therefore slimming Houston's deep receiver room by one, and allowing them to bring in a second kicker to their 90-man roster.

Freeman will, of course, be joining the Texans' veteran Ka'imi Fairbairn, as the second kicker in Houston, who is the longest-tenured player on the roster, being onboard dating back to 2017.

Why the Texans Signed Chris Freeman to the Roster

The Texans aren't signing Freeman as any type of competition for Fairbairn. If he were, Houston wouldn't have signed Fairbairn to a lucrative two-year extension earlier this offseason.

Instead, Freeman is in Houston as a bit of a tryout for himself, but also to give the Texans' veteran kicker a break during the preseason games ahead.

Dec 28, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Connecticut Huskies place kicker Chris Freeman (28) kicks an extra point against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

DeMeco Ryans already made it clear earlier this week that a select few players around the roster would be held out of Thursday's preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers; a strategy many teams implement in the first, or sometimes, all of their preliminary showings to keep them rested for the regular season.

For Fairbairn, it seems as if the Texans are trending towards holding him out of those preseason games. But, as every football team does, Houston will need a kicker for their first game of the year on Thursday––even if they don't intend to sign him to the 53-man roster.

So the Texans went out and brought in Freeman, who comes off of four years playing college ball between the UConn Huskies and the Indiana Hoosiers, and now looks to make the jump to the NFL.

What Chris Freeman Brings to the Texans Roster

During the last season that Freeman played in UConn, Freeman had 23 field goal makes on 26 attempts. He made all of his 52 field goal attempts throughout the year, and two of his three misses were from 40-49 yards. He was 9-11 from that range.

It was his best season by far at the college level, and a big jump from his previous year with the Huskies, where he made less than 80% of his field goals. Now, he's making 88.5% of them and didn't miss a field goal for a second straight season.

So he's found the opportunity in the NFL after showcasing a ton of his skillset in the past couple of seasons. But the Texans, in all likelihood, won't bring Freeman aboard onto their 53-man roster. They'll have Fairbairn onboard to handle their kicking duties, as he's done for the past several seasons.

At the very least, though, Freeman will be able to get his film in front of NFL personnel, and the hope is that his showing leads to either a practice squad addition in Houston, elsewhere, or even a 53-man roster signing around the league where a team is in need of a kicker.

His first showcase will, most likely, come on Thursday against the Chargers, kicking off at 7 p.m. CT.

Sign up for our free Houston Texans On SI newsletter, and get breaking Texans news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google