Texans release Jaelen Strong

BySarah Barshop ESPN logo
Monday, September 18, 2017

HOUSTON -- The Texans released wide receiver Jaelen Strong on Monday.



The 2015 third-round pick was suspended for the first game of the season because of his February 2016 arrest for illegal possession of marijuana. Strong was riding in a car driven by Green Bay Packers cornerback Damarious Randall, a former teammate at Arizona State, and admitted to having the marijuana without a medical marijuana card.



Strong played in the Texans' Week 2 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals but did not have a target. He played on just 30 percent of the team's offensive snaps.



In three seasons with the team, Strong had 28 catches for 292 yards and three touchdowns (all in his rookie season). The Texans considered releasing the wide receiver before the season during the cut down to the 53-man roster.



After releasing Strong, the Texans have four receivers on their roster: DeAndre Hopkins, 2016 third-round pick Braxton Miller, Will Fuller (broken collarbone) and Bruce Ellington (concussion protocol).



The Texans signed rookie wide receiver Andy Jones on Monday in a corresponding move.



Fuller returned to practice for the first time since he broke his collarbone on Aug. 3 and took part in stretching and wide receiver drills in the portion of practice open to the media. The Texans were originally hoping Fuller could play by Week 4 or 5 after his collarbone was broken in three places.



The Texans kept Fuller on the active roster even after the training camp injury, so he can play whenever Houston deems him ready. In his rookie season, Fuller had 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games.

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