Robert Woods has officially moved on! What does that mean for the Texans?
Even though the 2025 NFL Draft has come and gone, free agency persists! Former Houston Texans, free agent wide Robert Woods has just signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year $2 million deal, per Ian Rapoport:
Source: The #Steelers are signing veteran WR Robert Woods to a 1-year, $2M deal. A new target and big-time locker room presence for… whoever their QB ends up being. The former #Texans WR lands in a great spot. pic.twitter.com/19YldvwvsI
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 28, 2025
Woods, once a star for the prolific Los Angeles Rams offenses of the early Sean McVay era, has now turned journeyman wide receiver. He spent the last two seasons with Houston on a two-year $15.25 million contract and largely in a reserve role. His career stats in Houston are:
- 29 Games (15 Starts)
- 60 Receptions on 105 Targets
- 57.1 Catch %
- 629 Yards (10.5 Y/R)
- 1 Touchdown
Woods had spent much of his career as a smooth route runner and speedster to many great offenses of the 2010s. But after his Super Bowl campaign with the Rams in 2021, “Bobby Trees” separated from Los Angeles and joined the Tennessee Titans for one, fairly forgettable 2022 tenure where he tallied 53 Receptions for 527 yards and two touchdowns. His production continued to go down in both years in Houston, garnering 426 yards in 2023 and then just 203 yards last year.
Woods is still a very fast player with exceptional skills in footwork, but he’s less effective than he was in the past. It made sense for general manager Nick Caserio to move on from Woods and make room for younger receivers, but…it’s still hard to see him go. Woods became known for being an exceptional locker room presence and “glue guy” for the teams he’s been on. And to me, personally, even though he was just a rotational receiver, Woods became one of the icons of the Texans resurgence in quarterback C.J. Stroud’s rookie and sophomore seasons. He was not flashy and was never expected to be a long-term player for the Texans, but Woods made big plays when needed and was a safety valve for a rookie quarterback. Now that he’s gone to Pittsburgh, more expectations will be placed on Xavier Hutchinson, John Metchie, or rookie wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jalin Noel.
What do you think of this signing by the Steelers? Should the Texans have brought Woods back, or were they right to let him go? Let us know in the comments below!