Steelers to See Many Familiar Faces vs. Texans

The Steelers will see several familiar faces facing Houston on Sunday in their Week 4 clash. Recently traded interior offensive lineman Kendrick Green will start for the Texans at left guard. He made some headlines earlier this week by saying he is glad he is gone from Pittsburgh at this stage in his career.

“I’m glad it happened. I’m glad I’m not there anymore,” Green said to reporters in Houston on Friday, via Aaron Wilson of KRPC in Houston.

“I’m just looking at it as just another game, going out there to play my best. Just good that I’ll see some familiar faces on the other side. Got put in a pretty tough spot when I was there, and just think it’s fortunate the way it worked out.”

With Houston, Green has played exclusively his more-natural guard positon. Green said in 2022 that he never wanted to learn center, and it’s clear the ordeal of being pushed into the center position in Pittsburgh is something that he is glad is behind him.

However, Green is not the only former Steelers player the team will run into on Sunday. Veteran cornerback Steven Nelson is one of the starting cornerbacks on the other side. Nelson has carved out a nice role for himself in Houston. So far this season, Nelson has not allowed a touchdown with an interception and two pass breakups to go along with an all-around solid year. He will draw George Pickens on Sunday, and the Texans have a lot of confidence that Nelson can go toe-to-toe with Pickens despite his strong start to the season.

“Since he’s been back, it’s just been – he has been, you could argue – our most consistent and steady player on defense,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “Just practice in and practice out, game in and game out, he is as reliable as they come for me. Like, he’s just all of those things that you talked about. He’s always in the spot he’s supposed to be in. He’s trying to play the techniques we’re asking him to play.”

Lastly, defensive tackle Khalil Davis will play for the Texans, and he was elevated off the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday. This preseason, Davis impressed, and he showed out against Jacksonville last week, registering two pressures in 22 pass rush snaps.

Davis, the twin brother of fellow former Steelers defensive lineman Carlos Davis, spent part of the 2021 season with the Steelers practice squad and the entire 2022 offseason with the club before being released ahead of the regular season.

Davis spent the 2022 season on the practice squads of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams without playing in a game. He then caught on with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL and played there in the spring. He had 15 tackles and one sack with Birmingham, which earned him an opportunity with the Texans.