After a couple days’ worth of roster-trimming, your Houston Texans are down to 53 players on their squad. According to the team’s official site, this is the initial regular season roster of the 2018 Houston Texans: OFFENSE (24): Quarterback (2): Deshaun Watson, Brandon Weeden Running Back (4): Alfred Blue, Tyler Ervin, Lamar Miller, Troymaine Pope Wide Receiver (6): Keke Coutee, Bruce Ellington, Vyncint Smith, Sammie Coates, DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller V Tight End (4): Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas, MyCole Pruitt, Ryan Griffin Offensive Line (8): C Nick Martin, C/G Greg Mancz, C/G Zach Fulton, G Senio Kelemete, T Martinas Rankin, T Seantrel Henderson, T Julie’n Davenport, T Kendall Lamm DEFENSE (26): Defensive Line (8): DE Christian Covington, DE Angelo Blackson, DE J.J. Watt, DE Carlos Watkins, DE Joel Heath, DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney, NT D.J. Reader, NT Brandon Dunn Inside Linebacker (4): Brian Peters, Dylan Cole, Benardrick McKinney, Zach Cunningham Outside Linebacker (4): Duke Ejiofor, Peter Kalambayi, Brennan Scarlett, Whitney Mercilus Cornerbacks (6): Kayvon Webster, Kevin Johnson, Johnson Bademosi, Jermaine Kelly Jr., Johnathan Joseph, Aaron Colvin Safety (4): Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Reid, Kareem Jackson, Kurtis Drummond SPECIAL TEAMS (3): Kicker (1): Ka’imi Fairbairn. Punter (1): Trevor Daniel. Long Snapper (1): Jon Weeks. There could still be additional transactions ahead, depending on whether the Texans sign or claim a player that was cut by another team. The Texans have until 12 p.m. tomorrow to add players from the waiver wire. Additionally, there's still the matter of putting together a practice squad; we'll monitor that situation as it develops, though that shouldn’t affect who suits up for Week One, barring injury. What's your reaction to the Texans' maiden 53-man roster as they prepare to head to New England to tangle with the Patriots next weekend?<doc-sep>The Houston Texans are ready to begin the 2018 NFL season. With rosters being cut from 90 to 53 over the weekend, Houston will head into New England next Sunday afternoon with a revamped roster and new players to hopefully keep them in contention this upcoming season. Still, while some of the roster cuts were necessary, several final selections might be head scratchers. Not to disrespect the organization with their moves but with promise from several young players and potential to hopefully grow in the future, some of the roster moves made over the past 72 hours could come back to haunt the Texans on another team. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest names who didn’t make Houston’s final 53. CB Dee Virgin While Virgin might have not been an elite cornerback for the Texans, he did offer speed and the ability to play above average in zone coverage. In practice, his agility and cover skills were put on point as he consistently eliminated Texans wide receivers against the pass. In the games however, Virgin’s skills were more at a 50/50 level of either making the play or allowing for the big gain. With the loss of Kevin Johnson and still no word on his return, Virgin could have been on the roster as his replacement for the time being. As a special teams player, the second year cornerback could have been key making plays on kick off and punt while perhaps working in some on the return as a lead blocker. Now that the Texans officially signed Kayvon Webster to a one year deal, it makes sense for him to be the team’s initial replacement to Johnson. Still, Virgin is a bit of a shock.<doc-sep>Whittling their roster down to the NFL limit of 53 players Saturday afternoon, the Texans' final decisions were built largely around special-teams considerations and upgrading team speed. And the Texans' roster could still be in flux since they rank fourth on the NFL waiver-wire claiming priority list following a 4-12, last-place finish in the AFC South division a year ago. The Texans cut third quarterback Joe Webb despite a strong preseason during which he displayed his versatility and mobility. Webb was on multiple special-teams units, but the Texans decided to go with only starting quarterback Deshaun Watson and backup Brandon Weeden. Webb was the most notable player informed of his release Saturday after Friday's news that the Texans were cutting seven-time Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler, starting fullback Jay Prosch, offensive guard David Quessenberry and former third-round wide receiver and Ohio State standout quarterback Braxton Miller. Running back D'Onta Foreman remains on the physically unable to perform list to start the regular season, meaning he'll miss at least the first six games. The former University of Texas consensus All-American and Doak Walker award winner has made strides in his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered last season, but he isn't ready to practice or play in games. Foreman got hurt in late November against the Arizona Cardinals while scoring a touchdown. With the severity of the injury, this is a normal amount of recovery time. Foreman rushed for 327 yards and two touchdowns last season. The former third-round draft pick from Texas City is expected to make a full recovery this season. On the special-teams front, seventh-round rookie cornerback Jermaine Kelly, who missed the majority of the preseason with an injury, made the team, as did sixth-round outside linebackers Duke Ejiofor (Alief Taylor), a good situational pass rusher, and Peter Kalambayi. Undrafted rookie wide receiver Vyncint Smith, a 4.37 speedster from Division II Limestone College, survived the cutdown, as did third-down backs-kick returners Troymaine Pope and Tyler Ervin and wide receiver Sammie Coates, another special-teams stalwart. The Texans look like they could be in the market for outside help at running back and wide receiver depending on who's available. The Texans kept seven defensive linemen on the roster, including Angelo Blackson, Brandon Dunn, Joel Heath and Carlos Watkins behind starters J.J. Watt, Christian Covington and D.J. Reader. And the Texans kept four tight ends: Ryan Griffin, Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas and MyCole Pruitt. Although the Texans cut Prosch, the tight ends, especially Pruitt, are capable of lining up at fullback if needed. Backup offensive tackle Kendall Lamm made the team again despite some rough moments in preseason games as he struggled in pass protections and drew multiple penalty flags. The Texans cut backup offensive linemen Chad Slade and Kyle Fuller. Fuller could be back for the practice squad, which can be formed Sunday afternoon with a limit of 10 players that will include several of the players the Texans released Saturday. The Texans also cut outside linebacker Davin Bellamy, wide receiver Quan Bray, safety Ibraheim Campbell, cornerback Andre Chachere, running back Lavon Coleman, offensive lineman Anthony Coyle, safety Treston Decoud, outside linebacker Ufomba Kamalu, offensive guard Mason Gentry, offensive lineman Roderick Johnson, linebackers Kennan Gilchrist and Josh Keyes, cornerback Bryce Jones, offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith, nose tackle Darius Kilgo, tight end Matt Lengel, safety Corey Moore, nose tackle Kingsley Opara, kicker Nick Rose, running back Terry Swanson, defensive end Nick Thurman, cornerback Dee Virgin, wide receiver Jester Weah. The Texans waived-injured tight end Jevoni Robinson, reached injury settlements with tight end Stephen Anderson, linebacker LaTroy Lewis and cornerback Josh Thornton and placed safety Andre Hal on the reserve-non-football illness list. Texans coach Bill O'Brien signaled Friday that he was happy with the makeup of the team heading into the season opener against the New England Patriots. "I think it's a competitive roster," O'Brien said. "These are tough decisions. You have to get down to 53. You try to do the best you can to pick the best 53 relative to what you think you need to win games. "Now, understand it's just the 53 on September whatever day it is today. It doesn't mean it's going to be the same 53 on – even on September 9th or September 16th. We believe in a competitive roster and keeping it competitive. So, everybody here, coaches, players – everybody has to show up every day, ready to go."<doc-sep>The Texans got down to the NFL roster limit of 53 players Saturday. And they did so while keeping seven defensive linemen on the active roster and placing running back D'Onta Foreman on the reserve physically unable to perform list.<doc-sep>
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 09: Running back Troymaine Pope #33 of the Houston Texans rushes up field during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs on August 9, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) The weekend has been busy for the Houston Texans with cuts, signing and re-signing of players for the upcoming 2018 season, as Week 1 is this upcoming Sunday. There have been more than a few roster moves for the Houston Texans this weekend as rosters have been trimmed to 53 players, plus there are players being signed to the practice squad and players being added to the roster via the waiver wire. On Sunday, the Texans have added running back Buddy Howell (Florida Atlantic), rookie cornerback Natrell Jamerson (Wisconsin) and rookie safety A.J. Moore (Ole Miss). In making those moves, the Texans also released three players who initially made the 53-man roster in safety Kurtis Drummond, running back Troymaine Pope and tight end MyCole Pruitt. Also on Sunday, there were eight players selected to the practice squad, with those players being Davin Bellamy (outside linebacker), Andre Chachere (cornerback), Kyle Fuller (offensive line), Roderick Johnson (offensive tackle), Darius Kilgo (nose tackle), Matt Lengel (tight end), Chad Slade (offensive line) and Jester Weah (wide receiver). Of all the roster moves made on Sunday, the one for which many seem to hold the Texans accountable is the release of Pope, as many felt he deserved to be on the 53-man roster, especially with D’Onta Foreman being placed on the PUP list for the next six weeks. Pope never played a regular-season down for the Texans, but in 2016 he played in regular-season games with the New York Jets and the Seattle Seahawks. His combined totals for those two teams was 12 rushes for 44 yards, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Pope also has one career reception for five yards. This preseason, Pope only played in one game, where in Week 4 of the preseason he had five carries for 21 yards, with one of his carries being 11 yards. Pope finished the preseason with 4.2 yards per carry. In adding Howell, the Texans get a player whom the Miami Dolphins released during their 53-man cuts. In the Dolphins’ preseason finale, Howell had three carries for seven yards and one touchdown. He also made three receptions for 26 yards and one touchdown, with one of his three receptions going for 21 yards. For what it is worth, the Texans will be making another running back decision in six weeks, as they’ll have to decide which of their reserve running backs will be taken off the roster when it is time for Foreman to return to the lineup as he continues his recovery from injury. These moves for depth on the roster make sense for the Texans, but at running back, did they make the correct decision in waiving Pope and adding Howell? Neither has proven much in their short time in the NFL, and now Howell has a lot to prove before Foreman returns to make the decision tougher for the Texans to keep him on their roster in some way in six short weeks.