Tag: Texans roster

Texans waive CB Cornell Armstrong and LB Tae Davis

The Houston Texans announced they have waived cornerback Cornell Armstrong and linebacker Tae Davis.

The Houston Texans announced they have waived linebacker Tae Davis and cornerback Cornell Armstrong as part of their attempt to get to 53 players on their final roster before 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 31.

The Texans also announced the trading of defensive end Shaq Lawson to the New York Jets. The three moves put the Texans at 76 players on their active roster. It is worth mentioning that offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and guard Lane Taylor are still on the physically unable to perform list, and receiver Taywan Taylor is on the injured reserve.

Houston still has 23 more moves to make to get at 53 men. They don’t have to necessarily make 23 cuts; as proven with the Lawson trade, they can dispense players through that method, too. Players on the injured reserve won’t count against the active roster, and neither will players on the physically unable to perform list — at least not for the first six weeks.

Report: Texans prepared to keep Deshaun Watson on the 53-man roster and inactive every week

The Houston Texans will reportedly keep QB Deshaun Watson on the active roster and declare him inactive each week of the regular season.

The situation between the Houston Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson continues to defy precedent.

According to Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790, the Texans are prepared to keep Watson on the active roster and declare him inactive each week.

The three-time Pro Bowler still has not rescinded his trade request from late January. Complicated matters are Watson’s involvement as a defendant in a lawsuit wherein 22 women allege he committed sexual assault. With the NFL conducting their own investigation, some teams interested have expressed the idea of their picks being conditional, should Watson face league punishment. However, the Texans won’t agree to conditional picks.

Watson would be paid $10.54 million just to be inactive every week. Meanwhile the Texans would start Tyrod Taylor in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars with backups Jeff Driskel and rookie Davis Mills on the bench.

Houston Texans 53-man roster projection after preseason

The Houston Texans have to get to 53 players on their active roster on Aug. 31. Here is a projection of how the final roster could look.

The Houston Texans have to get their roster to 53 players by 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 31.

There will be some moves to be made outside of the traditional cutting of players. General manager Nick Caserio may have to pull off some trades, and the coaching staff may have to designate some players for injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list.

The Texans will also have the benefit of an expanded practice squad again, as the size will remain at 16 for another season. Don’t forget that the Texans can also activate players from the practice squad to the active roster on game days.

“Especially with the COVID situation that we have now, with the way the game is, as far as what that has done, being able to have those guys there with the big practice squad like that gives us some options that we didn’t have in the past,” coach David Culley said on Aug. 26.

Here is a projection of the final 53-man roster.

ESPN ranks the Texans as having the worst roster in the NFL

The Houston Texans have the worst roster in the entire NFL according to a new roster ranking from ESPN.

It may come as no surprise to Houston sports fans that the Texans may have the worst roster in the entire NFL.

So says ESPN at least. According to ESPN’s Ben Linsey, who looks at the biggest strength, weakness, and X-factor for the Texans, the problem’s with Houston’s roster can be found with their offensive line.

Biggest weakness: Houston’s defensive line ranked dead last in PFF overall grade as a unit (47.0) in 2020. And that was despite J.J. Watt earning an 85.4 overall grade on more than 1,000 defensive snaps. It’s hard to have much optimism surrounding this group with Shaq Lawson stepping in for Watt. The Texans will need younger players, such as Charles Omenihu and Ross Blacklock, to take big steps forward if their defensive line is to be anything other than the NFL’s worst such unit again this season.

The biggest strength on the Texans’ roster is left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who has proven to be a tremendous pass protector in the last two seasons with two Pro Bowl selections to show for it.

Houston’s wild-card is quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and Linsey notes that the former Pro Bowler was a three-year starter for the Buffalo Bills before becoming a backup.

One of the biggest problem’s with Houston’s roster is the abundance of transient players who are on one-year contracts. The Texans don’t particularly have players they can rely on for the long-term. Positions that may be “solved” for 2021 will come up as a need to be addressed in 2022.

However, first-year general manager Nick Caserio says churning the roster is part of the nature of pro football.

“25 to 30% of the team is going to be new anyway,” Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] on June 14. “So, again, what you try to do is look at what you’re dealing with right now with your team and each year is different. Each team is going to be different.

“We’ve added a number of new players to our team. I think that’s been talked about throughout the course of the spring. So, again, we just try to do what we felt was best for our situation.”

Texans cut OLB Duke Ejiofor following failed physical

The Houston Texans have cut former Alief Taylor standout Duke Ejiofor.

The Houston Texans released outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor on Wednesday.

The former Alief Taylor product played 12 games for the Texans in his rookie season after Houston selected him in the sixth round from Wake Forest in 2018. Ejiofor provided the Texans with nine combined tackles, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, 1.0 sack, and two pass breakups.

According to Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790, the Texans released Ejiofor because of a failed physical.

In the 2019 offseason, just before the start of organized team activities, Ejiofor tore his Achilles and was out for the year.

“It’s been unlucky,” then-coach Bill O’Brien said on May 19, 2019. “Duke’s a great guy and he just has had some bad luck. He’ll be back, though. He’ll be back at some point and he’ll have a chance to be a good pro football player. He’s a good guy, he can do a lot of different things, he’s a versatile player. It’s just one of those things. It’s tough. It was a fluky thing. It’s just bad luck really, to be honest with you.”

On Aug. 21, 2020, Ejiofor was placed on injured reserve once more after he tore his ACL and was out for a second straight season.

Texans cut OLB Duke Ejiofor following failed physical

The Houston Texans have cut former Alief Taylor standout Duke Ejiofor.

The Houston Texans released outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor on Wednesday.

The former Alief Taylor product played 12 games for the Texans in his rookie season after Houston selected him in the sixth round from Wake Forest in 2018. Ejiofor provided the Texans with nine combined tackles, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, 1.0 sack, and two pass breakups.

According to Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790, the Texans released Ejiofor because of a failed physical.

In the 2019 offseason, just before the start of organized team activities, Ejiofor tore his Achilles and was out for the year.

“It’s been unlucky,” then-coach Bill O’Brien said on May 19, 2019. “Duke’s a great guy and he just has had some bad luck. He’ll be back, though. He’ll be back at some point and he’ll have a chance to be a good pro football player. He’s a good guy, he can do a lot of different things, he’s a versatile player. It’s just one of those things. It’s tough. It was a fluky thing. It’s just bad luck really, to be honest with you.”

On Aug. 21, 2020, Ejiofor was placed on injured reserve once more after he tore his ACL and was out for a second straight season.

Texans claim OT Geron Christian, waive C Cohl Cabral

The Houston Texans made some changes to their offensive line as they claimed OT Geron Christian and waived C Cohl Cabral.

The Houston Texans made some changes to their offensive line and used the waiver wire to find the help.

The Texans announced May 21 they had claimed offensive tackle Geron Christian off waivers. To allow for the waiver claim, the Texans’ corresponding move was to waive center Cohl Cabral.

Christian was a third-round pick for Washington in the 2018 NFL draft. The former Louisville product played 24 games for Washington, starting in eight games. In 2020, Christian started all six of his games played for the NFC East club. Washington waived Christian on May 20.

Cabral was 6-5, 304 pounds and was a 2020 undrafted free agent from Arizona State. His hometown is Rancho Cucamonga, California, and he attended Los Osos High School.

Who could possibly have a worse roster than the Houston Texans?

The Houston Texans have the 31st-best roster according to Pro Football Focus. Who could have it worse off than them?

The Houston Texans finished 4-12 in 2020. Their departing faces of the franchise have been Janus like with J.J. Watt going on friendly terms and Deshaun Watson going in the ugliest way possible.

Quarterback troubles. New identity on defense. A bevy of veterans signed in free agency to one-year and two-year contracts. The Texans are in complete rebuild mode, even if they don’t want to admit it.

Pro Football Focus’ Anthony Treash considers the Texans to have the 31st-best roster in a league of 32 teams.

Houston was one of the more interesting teams in free agency, handing out a plethora of cheap one- and two-year deals to veterans. They were essentially screaming “we are rebuilding,” which is the correct route. Outside of left tackle Laremy Tunsil, there’s nothing to get excited about down in the trenches. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks is fresh off ranking inside the top 25 in receiving grade, but he’s the lone reliable receiving threat on the roster. In the secondary, they have an above-average outside corner in Bradley Roby (17th among outside corners in coverage grade in 2020) but a full-blown liability opposite him in Vernon Hargreaves III (sixth-to-last in coverage grade among that same group). There’s not enough talent and far too many glaring holes.

If the Texans are 31, then who is 32nd? That means there has to be an NFL team worse than the Texans in terms of their roster ahead of the draft.

Enter the Detroit Lions.

Treash writes that the Lions don’t have any one position of strength, which appears true. However, they do have stability at quarterback with Jared Goff. The Texans have Tyrod Taylor under contract, but they also traded with the Cincinnati Bengals for Ryan Finley. There is also speculation Houston could take a project quarterback in the draft.

Where Detroit also bests Houston is draft capital. The Texans are 30th in draft resources while the Lions are No. 8 in the rankings.

Texans S Justin Reid says the roster turnover ‘has been wild’

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid says that the amount of roster turnover that has taken place on the team has gone at a dizzying pace.

The Houston Texans finished 4-12 in 2020. Along the way, coach and general manager Bill O’Brien was canned after an 0-4 start. Even during the offseason, the roster saw significant changes as three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson and a second-round pick.

The crash at the end of the 2020 campaign, which saw Houston lose its final five games, prompted a change from chairman and CEO Cal McNair, who hired new general manager Nick Caserio and through that hire new coach David Culley.

Through Caserio’s nearly four full months in the general manager’s seat, the Texans have made over 70 roster transactions.

“We’ve had a hell of a turnover this past year,” safety Justin Reid told reporters on a Zoom call April 23. “There’s only, I think, two or three guys left from when I first got here in 2018 on the starting 22. The turnover has been wild, but we’ve brought in a lot of talent.”

On defense, the Texans traded for defensive end Shaq Lawason. The linebacking corps added new enforcers in Jordan Jenkins and Christian Kirksey. The secondary includes two starters in cornerbacks Desmond King and Terrance Mitchell.

The secondary also includes a new figure in coach Greg Jackson, who has familiarity with the Reid family in the NFL. From 2011-14, he was a defensive assistant on the San Francisco 49ers staff under coach Jim Harbaugh. Jackson coached Justin’s older brother, Eric, in his rookie season in 2014.

“I have a little bit of a prior relationship with him and I like him a lot,” Reid said. “I’m just excited. It’s an opportunity for us to turn the chapter and move forward.”

The Texans are also moving forward with a new scheme. Under new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, Houston will be deploying a Tampa-2 scheme with a 3-4 front.

Why have the Texans made so many roster moves in the offseason?

The Houston Texans have made of 70 roster moves in the offseason, and GM Nick Caserio explained why they had to make so many transactions.

The Houston Texans have made 72 roster transactions since the hiring of general manager Nick Caserio on Jan. 5.

For Caserio, the need to make that many roster moves, whether it was releasing players, restructuring contracts, executing trades, or signing free agents, was borne out of a comprehensive look at the roster.

“Our thought process and mindset was to look at our roster, look at our team and when you look at the players that we’ve added, most of them, not all, a majority of them, they have four, three, seven years of experience,” Caserio told reporters via Zoom on April 16. “So they have some level of experience in the league and some level of success at the program they have been. So try to create as much competition, present an opportunity in front of them and again it’s not putting labels on anybody that he’s this, he’s that. Like that’s not what we are going to be about.”

The Texans have brought in a bevy of free agents on one-year and two-year contracts. However, the bulk of the signings appear to be related to the defense as the team transitions from the 3-4 to defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s patented Tampa-2 with a 4-3 front

Houston has bolstered offensive positions such as quarterback with signing Tyrod Taylor and trading for Ryan Finley. Running back saw the additions of Phillip Lindsay and Mark Ingram while the interior of the offensive line has undergone its own overhaul.

“So what we are trying to do is build as good a comprehensive team as possible,” said Caserio. “Whatever that’s going to look like, I don’t really know at this point. We know where we are at this point in time. We’ll see how the rest of it transpires here kind of once we get started.”

By the time the NFL draft is complete and the team is ready for training camp, it should be no surprise if the Texans surpass 100 transactions.