The Houston Texans could have a massive new trench presence. That is, if the Texans follow through on their interest in the big-bodied Max Pircher, an international prospect that Houston can essentially stash while they evaluate him.
“#Texans worked out offensive tackle Max Pircher,” KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson reported on X on September 2.
Houston Stressans (Garret Williams) noted Pircher can fill the Texans’ 17th practice squad spot.
The Texans appear to agree, with Wilson reporting a short while later, “#Texans worked out and are signing international offensive tackle Max (Maximilian) Pircher (6-foot-7, 320, Brixen, Italy) to their practice squad, per a league source.
The NFL established its International Player Pathway program in 2017. Because of it, the Texans can roster Pircher–or players in his situation–on their practice squad without it counting toward their maximum limit, which is typically 16 spots.
Texans Eye Massive International Player Pathway Program OL Max Pircher
Well before drawing the Texans’ interest, Pircher began his career in the NFC with the Los Angeles Rams.
“The NFL’s International Player Pathway Program canvases various amateur sports leagues around the world to identify prospects who are NFL caliber-athletes,” TheRams.com’s Stu Jackson wrote in July 2021.
“Sometimes they are amateur American football players. Other times, according to Cook, a member of the league’s London staff who assists in international football development through the pathway program and NFL Academy, they can be “crossover athletes” who come from other sports like rugby or basketball, like Chilean tight end and former basketball player Sammis Reyes of the Washington Football Team.”
Jackson continued, “Pircher fell into the former category, having played at the highest level of American football in Austria in the Austrian Football League. He also came from an athletic background, having played soccer growing up in additional to handball and other sports.”
Pircher has yet to see the field during a regular-season contest.
He has, however, spent time with the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Commanders during his career so far.
Pircher joins Nathan Thomas, whom the Texans acquired in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys for a 2027 seventh-round pick, as the most recent additions to a revamped offensive line for head coach DeMeco Ryans in Houston.
Texans Add 6-Foot-7, 320-Pound Former Rams Find to Roster