Timing is everything in the NFL, and former Houston Texans draft pick Brandon Hill was available at the right time.
The former seventh-round selection has landed in the NFC with the Chicago Bears, who are coming off a resurgent 2025 season but have encountered a rash of injuries to their secondary. Some of them have appeared quite significant, sparking multiple roster moves.
Hill is looking to capitalize on the situation.
Ex-Texans DB Brandon Hill Lands With Bears
“The #Bears have signed DB Brandon Hill and DB William Wright and have waived DB K.C. Eziomume and DB Gervarrius Owens with an Injury designation,” Chicago announced in a post on X on August 8.
The Texans selected Hill with the 248th overall pick of the 2023 draft. He has played in two games, logging all but one of his 26 snaps with the Texans on special teams, per Pro Football Reference.
Hill, who turns 26 in September, has yet to record a stat in the NFL.
Hill has bounced around since entering the league, including two stints with the Texans, spending time as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders in between and a stop with the Denver Broncos (for one week) this spring.
The Texans have added through the draft and free agency at the position and boast an impressive group that made Hill expendable.
Calen Bullock is a Pro Bowler. 2025 free agent signing Reed Blankenship is a Super Bowl champion, and the Texans are high on recent picks Jaylen Reed and Kamari Ramsey.
Texans’ Secondary Remains Biggest Strength
The Texans’ stoutness on the back end is not exclusive to their safety room, either. Their cornerback group, led by Pro Bowlers Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, also includes 2025 draft pick Jaylin Smith and Super Bowl champion Tremon Smith (no relation).
That is why the Texans can withstand having draft picks (at least those in the latter rounds) fail to pan out and avoid the kind of scrutiny that would follow more significant whiffs.
Hill is one such casualty of the Texans’ roster.
In Chicago, however, he could have an opportunity to not only stick with a talented roster, but also earn his way into meaningful snaps, given all of the injuries that the Bears have endured so far in training camp.
And if it does not work out with the Bears, the Texans have shown a willingness to bring Hill back into the mix of their stellar defense.
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