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Texans make first cuts

By Nick Schenck
August 26, 2008 Comments (0) | Avg. Rating
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Smith, Kubiak discuss first cuts Embedded Video

The Texans announced their roster moves Tuesday to get under the NFL-mandated 75-man roster limit.

The team released fullback Jameel Cook and wide receiver Tim Carter, and waived guard Mark Fenton. Also, the team officially placed wide receiver Harry Williams on the reserve injured list along with offensive lineman Scott Jackson, who has suffered from plantar fasciitis this preseason.

"First of all, as a procedural matter, we waived (Jackson) and he will revert to injured reserve," general manager Rick Smith said. "The issue was that he had struggled all training camp basically with an injury to his foot, and we tried to treat it and just last week realized that it was a little worse off than we thought, so we put him in a boot and realized that he won't progress quick enough, so we put him on injured reserve."

Finally, cornerback Dunta Robinson was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, meaning he will miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season. He has been making steady progress in his rehabilitation from severe knee and hamstring injuries that he suffered at Oakland last season.

"You know, it was a hard decision, I think, because I know how hard (Dunta) is working to get back, and there is a chance that he may be healthy enough to actually compete prior to that six weeks of mandatory time where he can't play," Smith said. "But I think that the smart thing for us to do -- and for him -- is to do it this way and to give him that extra time to make sure that when he in fact comes back on the field, that he's ready to go."

"It was a hard decision, I think, because I know how hard (Dunta) is working to get back, and there is a chance that he may be healthy enough to actually compete prior to that six weeks of mandatory time where he can't play."

- GM Rick Smith
Cook joined the Texans in 2006 and played in 10 games that year. This past season, as a backup to Vonta Leach, Cook participated in every game and contributed on special teams.

A former second-round pick of the New York Giants, Carter signed with Houston in May. He caught one pass for 16 yards in the preseason opener against the Denver Broncos.

The Texans have one more preseason game this Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (broadcast locally on WB-39) before the final roster cut next weekend. Smith says the team plans to make the majority of its cuts this Friday.

"We've got a lot of young guys that are fighting for positions on this team and like we've talked about the entire training camp, what you try to do is you try to put as much competition together and let the decisions play themselves out on the field," Smith said. "So I'm excited to watch some of these young kids have an opportunity on Thursday, and hopefully we'll be able to get together the next couple of days after that to put together a good 53 that'll give us a chance to be successful this year." 

Smith says the competition is wide-open for players to make the final roster, which adds some drama to the preseason finale.

"I don't believe in just bringing camp bodies in, so I would like to think that every guy in that locker room feels like they have a legitimate opportunity to make our club," he said. "I hope that we have a bunch of guys feeling like that and feeling like they have to go out and perform on Thursday, just like they do every time that they have to step on the field."

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