HOUSTON — J.J. Watt has been added to Houston’s active roster ahead of the Texans playoff game Saturday against the Buffalo Bills.

Watt, who tore a pectoral muscle in October, returned to practice on Dec. 24 and was activated to the roster from the injured reserve list. The Texans host the Bills on Saturday afternoon.

The defensive end said last week that he was confident he’d play this week but that it’s unlikely that he’ll participate in as many snaps as usual.

This is the third time in four seasons that the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has had a major injury. He missed the last 13 games of 2016 because of a back injury that required surgery and played just five games in 2017 before breaking his leg. He played all 16 games last season and was a first-team All-Pro after finishing with 16 sacks and 18 tackles for losses.

BROWNS: Cleveland “mutually parted ways” with General Manager John Dorsey, two days after the team fired coach Freddie Kitchens following a disappointing season.

Dorsey’s stunning departure came after he refused to take a reduced role within the organization offered to him by owner Jimmy Haslam, who once again with his wife, Dee, are cleaning house and restructuring the front office after the Browns finished 6-10.

The Browns are in the preliminary stages of their coaching search, which will be affected by Dorsey leaving. The team has received permission to interview several candidates, including New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Baltimore offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

PATRIOTS: As it turns out, Josh McDaniels isn’t the only Patriots assistant with head-coaching interest.

According to ESPN, the New York Giants have requested permission to speak with Patriots wide receiver/special teams coach Joe Judge about their head-coaching vacancy.

The Giants also requested permission to speak with McDaniels, who’s a leading candidate for the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns jobs. That’s nothing new for McDaniels, but this is a first for Judge.

The 38-year-old has been an assistant with the Patriots since 2012. He worked as a special teams assistant before becoming the special teams coordinator in 2015. This year, Judge has taken on more responsibility, coaching on offense for the first time in his career.

This past October, Judge was listed as one of the young head-coaching candidates to watch by NFL.com in a story where the author talked to “NFL executives, coaches, players and others close to the search process.”

JAGUARS: Jacksonville is retaining Coach Doug Marrone and General Manager Dave Caldwell despite consecutive losing seasons.

Owner Shad Khan made the announcement after “positive meetings” with Marrone, Caldwell, their staffs and several players.

“This is not the time to consider an overhaul of our organization,” Khan said.

Marrone and Caldwell have two years remaining on their contracts, and Khan made it clear that expectations are high for 2020.

Jacksonville has two first-round draft picks, Nos. 9 and 20 overall, to help rebuild the roster. Rookies Gardner Minshew, Josh Allen and Jawaan Taylor are a few of the building blocks in place for Marrone and Caldwell moving forward.

But there are plenty of holes, especially if the Jaguars part ways with several expensive veterans to create salary cap space.

Khan fired top executive Tom Coughlin two weeks ago, identifying the old-school coach’s overbearing ways as the main problem. Coughlin’s heavy-handed approach upset players, leading to cornerback Jalen Ramsey forcing a trade to the Los Angeles Rams, as well as some assistants.

Coughlin’s position as executive vice president of football operations will not be filled. Marrone and Caldwell will report directly to Khan.

“I want to see what we produce under a new organizational structure in 2020,” Khan said. “Goals have been established. Accountability will be paramount.”

BEARS: The team remains committed to Mitchell Trubisky as its starting quarterback despite his struggles this season, General Manager Ryan Pace said.

Pace stopped short of saying the Bears will exercise their fifth-year option on Trubisky and did not rule out bringing in an experienced veteran who could push for the starting job. But he made it clear the Bears expect Trubisky to open next season as their No. 1 quarterback.

“Mitch is our starter,” Pace said. “We believe in Mitch and we believe in the progress that he’s gonna continue to make.”

Offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and three other assistants were fired, the team announced. Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride and assistant special teams coach Brock Olivo were also let go.

STEELERS: Coach Mike Tomlin said the team expects veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to return next season after missing all but six quarters of Pittsburgh’s uneven 8-8 season because of a right elbow injury.

Mason Rudolph, who took over when Roethlisberger went down in Week 2 against Seattle, will be the top backup despite some erratic play that led to him getting benched in favor of undrafted rookie free agent Devlin Hodges.

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