What the Texans are getting in former Lions' receiver Quintez Cephus

The Houston Texans added to their offense on Tuesday when they signed former Detroit Lions' receiver Quintez Cephus to a contract . Cephus has had an interesting career in the NFL so far, here's some background and what the Texans are getting.

The Lions took Cephus in the fifth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the time it felt like a steal since Cephus was coming off a strong year with Wisconsin and there were some expectations that he could go much higher, but he was in the middle of a court case where he was charged with sexual assault that caused him to miss his junior season in 2018 because he was expelled. Cephus was acquitted and would later sue Wisconsin over the expulsion.

The Lions brought him along slowly in his first season, but he showed a lot of promise later on into the year. In 2021 he was expected to take on a starting role and he did just that until he took a bad hit and suffered a season ending shoulder injury.

In 2022 Cephus got hurt in training camp when he got tangled up with Jeff Okudah on a drill. Then when he came back, he got hurt again. This time it was a season ending foot injury.

In 2023 he felt like a guy that was likely going to get cut at the end of training camp becasue he was so behind on his development and others had just passed him up, then he was suspended indefinitely by the league for violating the gambling protocols.

The league reinstated him in April and he signed with the Bills. They released him a month later and now he's with the Texans. So what can they expect from him?

The big draw to Cephus has always been his speed and ability to separate. He can be a vertical threat because of it. Cephus is also able to make some nice contested catches at 6-foot-1.

Cephus can also play well on special teams. He was actually really surprising in that role in 2022 before he got hurt.

It's going to be an uphill battle for Cephus to make the Texans roster, but he's a good practice squad candidate and if the Texans continue to work with him over time and he can stay healthy, he's someone that could benefit the team in the near future. He's still just 26-years-old. Maybe he can be a solid depth guy some day.

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