The Houston Texans ' linebacker group saw a notable injury transpire in just the first week of camp on Thursday as Jake Hansen suffered a foot injury that he was inevitably carted off the field from . And to this point, we still don't know what the exact extent of it is, or how much time he'll be set to miss.
However, just a day following the Texans' linebacker going down, it appears that the team has brought in a couple of veteran free agents at the position to try out for a roster spot.
According to KPRC2 's Aaron Wilson, the Texans worked out linebackers Sione Takitaki and Jahlani Tavai, both of which are currently free agents, having just recently played during the 2025 season.
The Texans have remained busy in the past few days as it relates to working out several free agents across multiple positions.
Just on Thursday, it was reported that Houston had worked out a couple of free agent running backs, Hassan Haskins and Alexander Mattison , and now have turned their attention to the defensive side of the ball for both Takitaki and Tavai.
And while no signing is imminent for either, it appears that the Texans are at least being proactive in searching around the open market for a potential replacement in their linebacker room for the extent that Hansen is going to be sidelined--whatever length that might be.
Both Takitaki and Tavai are tenured veteran names throughout the league who have had some form of proven success in recent years. Each of them also has over 80 games played in the NFL, giving them a bit of an edge in terms of experience.
In the case of Takitaki, he spent most of his career with the Cleveland Browns from 2019 to 2023, playing in 72 games for the franchise, and had played for both the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings within the past two years.
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Sione Takitaki (16) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
His most recent season with the Vikings was relatively limited, as he would only play in three total games to log three combined tackles, with all of his snaps coming within special teams.
He's now 31, and hasn't been much of a consistent defensive contributor since the 2023 season, but certainly didn't withhold the Texans from bringing him in for a closer look.
As for Tavai, he has two years of experience with the Detroit Lions , and had spent the last five years of his career with the Patriots, having even gotten playing time during last season's Super Bowl as a rotational linebacker on their defense.
Last season with the Patriots, Tavai played in 12 games, starting in seven of them, and put together 42 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
Those numbers were actually some of his lowest in the past three years, considering he posted back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons in both 2024 and 2025.
Both of them could bring the aspired spark the Texans are looking for in their linebacker room. Since their veteran EJ Speed went down with a quad injury earlier this offseason , Houston has been in search of who will be the one to claim their LB3 role behind Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To'oTo'o.
Again, while no signing is imminent for either of Takitaki or Tavai, they'll both be names to keep an eye on in the days ahead as the Texans continue working through the motions of training camp.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as Texans Worked Out Two Free Agent LBs After Jake Hansen Injury .
