The Houston Texans announced they have waived-injured cornerback Jermaine. They also claimed cornerback Jermaine Ponder off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Texans made Kelly their final selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, selecting him with the No. 222 overall pick in the seventh round. The former San Jose State Spartan spent all of 2018 on the injured reserve (torn hamstring). Kelly practiced in training camp sparingly and suffered a quad injury earlier in the week.
Kelly is the first player to be cut from the 2018 draft class. However, if he isn’t claimed off of waivers by another team, he can return to the Texans on the injured reserve and sign a practice squad contract.
Kelly’s replacement, Ponder, went undrafted in 2019 after playing his college ball at Saint Francis (Pa.). The Cleveland Browns originally signed him, then waived him, leading to a spot on the Steelers roster in early August. The Steelers waived him on Thursday.
In 2018, the 6-2 cornerback tallied 25 combined tackles, an interception, and 15 pass breakups — his 16 total passes defended rank first in St. Francis school history. For his efforts, he was named to the second-team all-Northeast Conference team. Ponder ran a 4.47 40-time at his pro day, per Hero Sports.
