Texans Move John Metchie III to Reserve/Non-Football Illness List

The Houston Texans have officially placed former Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III on the reserve/non-football illness list for the season.

This comes one month after the Canada native announced his diagnosis on social media of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), just weeks before he was set to start his rookie season with Houston.

Since then, the Texans confirmed that he would be receiving treatment, and therefore would have to miss the entire 2022-23 season.

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"I am currently receiving great medical care, am in good spirits and I expect to make a recovery at a later point in time," said Metchie in his announcement. "As a result of the diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season. My main focus will be on my health and recovery."

The Houston Texans drafted Metchie at No. 44 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, however the journey from Alabama to the NFL has been a tough one for the 22-year-old.

During the 2020 season, he played through an ankle sprain for the second part of the season. In the 2021 SEC Championship game, he tore his ACL against Georgia, causing the Crimson Tide to be without one of its starting receivers going into the CFP Semi-finals matchup against Cincinnati and National Championship Game versus Georgia.

Metchie's good spirits seemed to show on the sidelines of the Texans practice Tuesday where he came to visit and support his fellow teammates getting ready for the upcoming season.

According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, APL is the most curable form of leukemia and there have been reports of up to a 90% cure rate.