Texans Designate RB David Johnson & LB Kyle Emanuel To Return From IR

The Texans have designated RB David Johnson and LB Kyle Emanuel to return from injured reserve, per Mark Berman.

This opens up a three-week window for them to practice with the team before Houston has to activate them to the roster. 

Johnson, 28, was taken in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cardinals. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $2.992 million contract when he agreed to a three-year, $39 million extension worth up to $45 million.

The Cardinals traded Johnson to the Texans this offseason as part of the DeAndre Hopkins deal. 

Johnson stands to make base salaries of $10,200,000 and $7,950,000 over the final two years of the deal.

In 2020, Johnson has appeared in eight games for the Texans and rushed for 408 yards on 103 carries (4 YPC) to go along with 16 receptions for 161 yards receiving and four total touchdowns.

Emanuel, 29, is a former fifth-round pick of the Chargers back in 2015. He played out the final year of his four-year, $2,498,572 contract with the Chargers and was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career when he retired. 

Emanuel opted to come out of retirement in March and eventually signed with the Raiders in August. He was among their final roster cuts coming out of training camp and re-signed to Las Vegas’ practice squad. 

The Texans signed Emanuel to their active roster last month. 

In 2020, Emanuel has been active for three games and has recorded one tackle.