The Houston Texans have gotten a head start on their cutting down to a 53-man roster for the 2020 regular season.
On Monday, the club announced they had released inside linebacker Daren Bates, whose primary role on the team was to play special teams, given his familiarity with special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.
The club also waved quarterback Alex McGough and defensive tackle Albert Huggins.
With the Texans cutting these three players, they have 77 players on their active roster. Even though the Texans have got a head start, they still consider themselves in training camp.
“I think we’re still in training mode a little bit here,” coach and general manager Bill O’Brien said Monday. “We’re still working against each other and trying to clean some things up. We had a tough practice yesterday. It was a hot, humid day and guys competed hard, so we’ll back off a little bit today. We’re still working against each other.”
The loss of the three players means more reps to go around. The Texans have two quarterbacks on the roster in Deshaun Watson and A.J. McCarron. Inside linebacker features two starters in Zach Cunningham, Benardrick McKinney, and two special teamers in Peter Kalambayi and Dylan Cole. Veteran P.J. Hall and rookie Ross Blacklock can pick up more snaps with Huggins not on the roster.
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