Battle Red Blog
Predicting the Houston Texans 53-man roster.
The first week of training camp was a doozy. The offensive line woes continued, the injuries piled up, but the Texans approach their first preseason game on Saturday.
At practice this past week, several rookies have sustained severe injuries. Seventh-rounder Kyonte Hamilton is out for four months with a fractured ankle and sixth-round pick Jaylin Reed has suffered a lower leg injury. They add to a growing list of veterans who have yet to practice, which include Foley Fatukasi, Kurt Hinish, Derek Barnett, Denico Autry, Trent Brown, Dameon Pierce, and Jimmie Ward.
While this site prepares for the biggest change in the past decade, the Houston Texans approach an extremely indicative game against the Vikings. The central storyline will be the Texans’ newly crafted offense under first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley.
In today’s Rosterology 2.0, I update the projected 53-man roster Houston will take into their week one matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. With all the injuries, I have denoted players who Houston will likely place on injured reserve (IR) or Physically Unable to Play (PUP).
Bold are rookies, italicized are newly added players.
DeMeco Ryans refrained from remarking on Joe Mixon’s timeline to return after being placed on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list earlier this week. The murkiness around the situation created a seismic shift in the running back room landscape. The player most impacted is rookie Woody Marks, whose undefined role in the offense should be more clear without Joe Mixon in the room. Outside of Dameon Pierce, Houston rarely retains rookie running backs on their 53-man roster in their history, but Marks’ chances have gotten a whole lot better.
Harris hasn't participated in the first few days of Training Camp. He missed the first 14 games of the 2024 season and played sparingly in the playoffs.
C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills
CUT: Graham Mertz (emergency QB), Kedon Slovis
Analysis: Davis Mills continues to impress on offense. So much so that fans are calling for him to be traded for draft capital. I think that’s idiotic; all it would take is one hit to Stroud to tank the entire season without Mills in waiting.
The battle for the third QB is compelling; Slovis had made significant strides since last camp and looks cleaner than Mertz. Mertz should see significant playing time in his first game in the NFL, which will be the first game he has played since October 2024.
Nick Chubb, Woody Marks, Dameon Pierce, Jakob Johnson
CUT**:** Dare Ogumbowale, J.J. Taylor, Jawhar Jordan, British Brooks
IR: Joe Mixon
Analysis: With Mixon’s health in question, Nick Chubb...
