The Houston Texans are bringing Deuce Vaughn back into the organization, this time on the practice squad.
NFL insider Aaron Wilson reported Tuesday that the former Dallas Cowboys running back is signing with Houston, a return that comes only weeks after the Texans cut him at the end of training camp.
Vaughn is 24 and still carries the kind of local affection that made him a Cowboys fan favorite almost from the moment Dallas drafted him.
The Round Rock native went to Kansas State, where his low center of gravity and burst in space made him one of the more entertaining backs in the Big 12.
Dallas selected him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft, 212th overall, and the story traveled well beyond the box score: his father, Chris Vaughn, a Cowboys scout, was the person who called to tell him he was staying home.
At 5-foot-6 and about 185 pounds, he was never going to look like a traditional NFL back, and that only seemed to endear him to fans who wanted to see the undersized Wildcat make it.
The contract he signed as a rookie was a standard four-year deal worth $3,973,336, with $133,336 guaranteed. He was still in the third year of that agreement when Dallas released him at final cuts coming out of the 2025 preseason.
Denver claimed the next chapter, putting him on the Broncos’ practice squad for the 2025 season.
After the year, he signed a futures deal, then surfaced briefly with Houston in camp before the Texans let him go once the roster was set. The practice-squad signing closes that loop without putting him back on the active roster.
His NFL production has been modest, which is why the path has run through practice squads rather than feature roles. In 2024 he appeared in seven games for Dallas and rushed 17 times for 70 yards, a 4.1-yard average, with three catches for 18 yards and no touchdowns.
Across his time with the Cowboys, he had been used sparingly, the kind of change-of-pace and special-teams option teams keep on the margins rather than build a game plan around.
For Houston, the move is depth, not a statement. Practice-squad spots exist for exactly this kind of player: someone who already knows the building, can be elevated if injuries hit the backfield, and does not require a long introduction.
Vaughn has been through that cycle before, in Dallas and in Denver, and now again on Kirby Drive.
Whether this stay lasts longer than the camp audition is an open question. What is clear is that a former Cowboys fan favorite, the small back whose draft night still gets replayed, has another chance to stick in the league.
