Texans Cut Rookie Punter Jack Stonehouse: What Comes Next

The Houston Texans are changing up their punter room a little over a week into training camp.

According to Jonathan M. Alexander of The Houston Chronicle, the Texans are releasing punter Jack Stonehouse.

The #Texans have cut rookie P Jack Stonehouse, per a source.

P Kai Kroeger is the lone punter on the roster.

— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) August 8, 2026

The Texans have had Stonehouse, who was most recently the punter for Syracuse across two years, as one of their two punters on the roster dating back to right after the draft.

That’s because the Texans had let go of Tommy Townsend earlier this offseason, who had been Houston’s punter for the past two seasons. He now resides with the Tennessee Titans after signing a new two-year contract in free agency, and has left the Texans’ starting job up for grabs.

The undrafted free agent pickup has been right there in the running with former New Orleans Saints punter Kai Kroeger to try and win Houston’s punting job heading into Week 1, and both have been competing for it since getting on the field in OTAs.

But now, the Texans’ punting room has been cut down to just one: that’s Kroeger. And while that certainly doesn’t mean the team has landed on their starting punter for the year, it does mark a big change at the position for Houston heading into the new season.

Why Texans Decided to Part Ways With Stonehouse

The Texans’ punting competition, which has had just over a week to unravel in training camp, hasn’t produced anyone who looks qualified for Houston’s starting punter job.

That goes for Stonehouse and Kroeger. Neither were producing good enough results in their reps to establish enough confidence in them moving forward, and were bound to face a change in the days ahead because of it.

Stonehouse, who has continuously improved every year he was punting in college, appeared to be the guy who was on the outside looking in for that battle. Of course, Houston was his first stop coming out of the draft, and he now hits free agency with hopes that he can find traction elsewhere.

The Texans’ punting job is an important one, and it was last year. Houston’s offense punted their fair share of times both in 2025 and in 2024 for each of Townsend’s seasons with the team, leaving him to log over 70 punts for each of the last two seasons. So these workouts to find the next guy worthy of handling those responsibilities are critical to get right.

Kroeger, as he’s the only punter on the roster, has the inside track to do so now that Stonehouse is gone. But based on the tone surrounding this position battle to begin with, there’s a pretty good chance that more competition will be soon on its way for him.

What Comes Next for Texans After Stonehouse’s Cut

Expect the Texans to be bringing in a free agent punter, or multiple, for a workout here in the coming days. Houston already did so earlier in the week for Jack Browning––who was most recently punting in the UFL––and that was when Stonehouse was still on the roster.

But now, the Texans have a clear opening for another punter on the roster. They can now take their search to former punters who have played more recently in the league, or maybe even another UDFA addition who might be worth a look instead of Stonehouse.

Regardless, a move is coming to the room. And whoever does get signed next to Kroeger will have a great chance to win out the Texans’ starting punter job by the end of the month.

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