Category: Preseason

Houston Texans 53-man roster: Who makes the cut after the Saints game?

Take a look as @johnhcrumpler provides his best guess as to the Houston Texans’ 53-man roster following the preseason finale.

The Houston Texans beat the New Orleans Saints 17-13 in the preseason finale Sunday night at Caesars Superdome.

The next step for the team will be roster cut downs, as franchises around the league are required to be down to 53 players by 3:00 p.m. Central Time. General manager Nick Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the players present on their team during training camp and throughout games the last month.

Everyone knows the headliners from free agency and the past few drafts that are locks to lead the roster this year. What about the candidates that will be necessary depth to carry momentum through the year?

Here is a look at the last best guess to the Texans’ 53-man roster.

C.J. Stroud throws TD, Texans outlast Saints 17-13

The Houston Texans beat the New Orleans Saints 17-13 in the preseason finale, and QB C.J. Stroud threw his first touchdown pass.

C.J. Stroud threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nico Collins and the Houston Texans prevailed 17-13 over the New Orleans Saints Sunday night in the Caesars Superdome.

Much like his first preseason game at the New England Patriots, Stroud played just two drives. The No. 2 overall pick went 2-4 for 16 yards, and third-year Davis Mills replaced him to start the third drive.

Saints starter Jameis Winston played into the first minute of the second quarter. The former 2015 No. 1 overall pick completed 11 passes on 16 attempts for 93 yards and a touchdown before Jake Haener took over.

The Texans’ Mike Boone led all running backs with seven carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. The former Minnesota Viking and Denver Bronco also caught four passes — tied with rookie receiver Xavier Hutchinson for the team-high — for 26 yards. Hutchinson had two more receiving yards to lead Houston.

New Orleans tight end Lucas Krull caught a game-high seven passes for 106 yards.

Houston’s defense produced two sacks, each from defensive tackle Khalil Davis and cornerback Desmond King. Safety Grayland Arnold procured the Texans’ lone interception of the game. Safety Eric Murray led with six combined tackles on the evening.

While the Texans remain the last team to declare a starting quarterback for Week 1, none would be surprised if the team picked Stroud.

The Texans open Sept. 10 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

New Orleans hosts the Tennessee Titans Sept. 10 at Caesars Superdome for a 12:00 p.m. Central Time kickoff.

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WATCH: Texans RB Mike Boone scores 11-yard touchdown against the Saints

Houston Texans running back Mike Boone scored an 11-yard touchdown on the ground against the New Orleans Saints in preseason.

The Houston Texans may have their running back hierarchy, but that is still no reason to sleep on Mike Boone.

The Texans’ RB3 flashed bell-cow moves against the New Orleans Saints Sunday night at the Caesars Superdome. With the score tied 10-10 with 2:29 to go in the second quarter, Boone took a handoff from quarterback E.J. Perry and sprinted 11 yards for a touchdown. Along the way, Boone used the spin cycle to get out of a few would-be Saints tackles.

Boone, 28, has played 57 career games for the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos. Houston signed Boone to a two-year contract in free agency.

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WATCH: Texans QB C.J. Stroud throws touchdown to WR Nico Collins

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw his first touchdown pass of preseason against the New Orleans Saints.

Better late than never.

With 7:22 to go in the first quarter of the preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw a 3-yard touchdown pass.

The touchdown is Stroud’s first of the preseason. The No. 2 overall pick’s night was finished after the drive as Houston inserted third-year Davis Mills. Stroud completed two passes on four attempts for 16 yards.

The Texans were the last team to name a starting quarterback for Week 1. Coach DeMeco Ryans has teased throughout the preseason that they will have a starter against the Baltimore Ravens. However, the surprise may be anticlimactic.

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Bears Twitter reacts to the release of OL Alex Leatherwood

Bears fans were somewhat surprised to see the team move on from Alex Leatherwood.

Another Chicago Bear is hitting the market ahead of Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline. The Bears announced they are waiving offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was first with the news. Leatherwood was drafted with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders as the team’s future right tackle. He struggled mightily throughout his rookie season, and a poor 2022 preseason led to his release from the Raiders.

The Bears put in a claim for Leatherwood, hoping to get something out of the former Alabama standout, but he missed the first half of the season due to mononucleosis. He saw action in just four games near the end of the season, with mixed results. Leatherwood spent much of the 2023 offseason at guard and had moments during the preseason, but not enough to guarantee a spot on the 53-man roster. Leatherwood, who carries a $4.5 million dead cap hit, will now look for his third team in as many seasons. The news came on the heels of the Bears releasing backup quarterback P.J. Walker.

Given the Bears have question marks on the offensive line with Teven Jenkins out for multiple weeks and Nate Davis missing much of camp, seeing Leatherwood cut has Bears fans somewhat surprised. Here is how Bears Twitter reacted to the move.

Bears roster cuts: Tracking the path to 53 players

With the roster deadline looming, we’re tracking the Bears’ cuts as they trim the roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT.

With the preseason in the books, the final round of roster cuts are upon us, where the Chicago Bears have to trim their roster from 87 to 53 players before 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday.

There are a handful of players who have made a case for a roster spot, but they won’t all make the cut. After forming the 53-man roster, Chicago will start putting together their practice squad, which should feature some of those names who just missed the cut.

With the Bears being first in waiver order, the initial 53-man roster won’t necessarily be the final roster heading into Chicago’s Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers.

We’re tracking the Bears’ roster cuts as they happen before Tuesday’s deadline. Stay tuned to this page for updates.

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Texans G Kenyon Green wants to improve technique in second season

Houston Texans guard Kenyon Green is looking to improve upon his technique as he enters his second NFL season.

HOUSTON — With only one preseason game left before the start of the NFL regular season, many players from the Houston Texans will try to make a strong impression on head coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio against the New Orleans Saints before Tuesday’s deadline to cut the roster from 90 to 53 players.

Those players on the borderline of making the Texans roster won’t be the only ones with something to prove inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Second-year offensive guard Kenyon Green will make the most of the limited snaps the starters will receive.

Green, whom the Texans took in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, is looking to rebound from his rough rookie season, where he was matched up against some of the best defensive tackles in the league. In his 15 games played, he allowed four sacks, which is very rare for the former two-time Consensus All-American, but what was unacceptable by Green’s standards were the 12 penalties he committed.

He missed OTAs due to a minor arthroscopic knee surgery and was limited to begin training camp. Yet, when he finally began to play, you could see the work he had put into the offseason to get better and help his team heading into the regular season.

“Just technique,” Green said about what he wants to improve this season. “Technique and just finishing plays. That’s what I’m focused on right now. Technique and finishing plays, hands inside, just trying to be the best player I can be.”

He only played 12 snaps against the New England Patriots in the first preseason game. He was part of the group that allowed a lot of pressure on rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, giving him a limited amount of time to make decisions. It was the first game he played with rookie center Juice Scruggs, who was inserted into the starting lineup after Scott Quessenberry went down in training camp with a season-ending injury.

Green and Scruggs finally got on the same page in game two against the Miami Dolphins, where they allowed Stroud to operate in a clean pocket as he completed 66.7% inside the tackle box as no Dolphins defensive player took Stroud down for a sack.

“We came out with the mindset that we were going to dominate on the offensive line,” Green said after practice on Friday. “The main thing was we don’t want to give up any sacks. Juice [Scruggs] is advanced. It is really fun playing with him knowing learning, but also knowing what to do. He is getting everything down like he should. He commands the huddle.”

With the starters playing limited snaps in the final preseason game, Green will have an opportunity to get more time with Scruggs and Stroud, which will help the communication grow as they head into the regular season.

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7 standout players in Bears’ 24-21 preseason loss to the Bills

The Bears wrapped the preseason with a loss to the Bills, but there were several standout players for Chicago.

The Chicago Bears’ preseason has finally come to close, and it certainly was an interesting stretch of exhibition games. The team was never able to match the same efficiency they produced in the opening game, and the Bears finished their final game with more questions than answers.

The offense was inconsistent, petering out on their first two drives before finally getting the offense into the red zone. Even then, quarterback Justin Fields took a hard hit and was pulled out of the game, leaving fans frustrated that he couldn’t see the drive through.

On the flip side, the defense got shredded by the elite talents of quarterback Josh Allen and receiver Stefon Diggs, leaving fans wondering whether to blame the defense’s preparedness or chalk it up to the Bills’ offensive greatness.

Despite how last night’s game went, fans are happy to be past the scrimmage-like games and are looking forward to meaningful football being played. Before that comes around, however, several Bears stood out in an attempt to avoid being on the cutting room floor when roster cut day comes around, and we’ll be covering every player here.

With that being said, let’s discuss the seven players who stood out in the Bears’ final preseason game.

Bears PFF grades: Best and worst performers from preseason loss vs. Bills

Here’s a look at how PFF graded the Bears offense and defense in their preseason finale vs. Bills.

The Chicago Bears were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts, 24-21. The Bears healthy starters, on offense and defense, saw limited action in the preseason finale.

Pro Football Focus has handed out player grades for those who took a snap in Chicago’s loss against Buffalo, and we broke them down by offense and defense, analyzing the three highest- and lowest-graded players on each side, as well as some other notable performers.

There were a few surprises — and then some not surprises — in terms of the highest- and lowest-graded players, both on offense and defense. Here’s a look:

6 takeaways from the Bears’ 24-21 preseason loss to the Bills

From a murky backup quarterback competition to Trevis Gipson’s trade request, here are our takeaways from Saturday’s Bears preseason loss.

Just as quickly as it started, the 2023 NFL preseason has come to a close for the Chicago Bears. They wrapped up their finale against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field but fell 24-21 to finish the preseason 1-2, their first losing record in August since 2019.

Saturday’s game had a bit more juice to it, however, as both teams played their starters on offense and defense to begin the game. Bears quarterback Justin Fields struggled out of the gate while Bills quarterback Josh Allen drove his team downfield on their first drive to put seven points on the board. Backup quarterback Kyle Allen also orchestrated multiple scoring drives on the Bears backup defense.

On offense, Bears backup quarterback Tyson Bagenet once again used his legs to find the endzone, and Cairo Santos netted a pair of field goals throughout the day. The Bears clawed their way back to keep things close thanks to a touchdown pass from P.J. Walker later in the game, but never held a lead the entire day.

With the preseason now in the books, it’s about time to turn our focus to the regular season, but there were still things to take away from the final dress rehearsal. Here are our takeaways from Saturday’s preseason loss.