After a whirlwind month of August for former Iowa football quarterback Mark Gronowski, where he was cut and re-signed multiple times by the Miami Dolphins, the 6-foot-2, 227-pounder has found a new home in the NFL.
On Tuesday, the Houston Texans signed Gronowski to its practice squad.
In Houston, he figures to serve as the emergency third quarterback behind starter C.J. Stroud and backup Davis Mills. An emergency third quarterback must be on the 53-man roster or as one of two standard practice squad elevations per week. An elevated quarterback would have to be active for the game rather than in the emergency role. A player can be activated three times per season.
We have signed Gavin Gerhardt and Mark Gronowski to the practice squad and made other
roster moves. pic.twitter.com/wdyajYuIX3
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 8, 2026
During his two preseason appearances with the Dolphins, Gronkowski was 6 for 13 passing for 98 yards and added 37 yards on the ground in 41 offensive snaps.
In his lone season at Iowa, Gronowski passed for 1,741 yards and 10 touchdowns and ran for an additional 545 yards and 16 scores. The Hawkeyes posted a 9-4 (6-3 Big Ten) record last season with Gronowski under center.
After second-year and former Wisconsin Badger quarterback Graham Mertz suffered a torn ACL in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Texans needed to find depth options under center. Following initial roster cutdowns, Houston was the league's only team not to carry a third option on its initial practice squad.
Here's a refresher on Gronowski's NFL transactions to this point:
Mark Gronowski NFL transactions timeline
- May 11, 2026: Signs with Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent
- Aug. 7, 2026: Waived by Miami Dolphins
- Aug. 16, 2026: Re-signs with Miami Dolphins on a one-year, $885,000 (nonguaranteed) contract
- Aug. 30, 2026: Waived by Miami Dolphins
- Aug. 31, 2026: Re-signs with Miami Dolphins' practice squad after clearing waivers
- Sept. 1, 2026: Released from Dolphins' practice squad
- Sept. 8, 2026: Signs with Houston Texans' practice squad
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Texans sign former Iowa QB Mark Gronowski to practice squad
