The one thing to understand about an NFL roster is that it’s always fluid. It’s always in flux, 24/7/365, but even with that as a guide or backdrop, it’s clear that the Texans roster has undergone a serious renovation. It dawned on me how drastic the changes have been in a short amount of time.
When the Texans sent out the notice of transactions the Monday after rookie minicamp, it struck me how drastically things had changed just in the last year. So, I examined the current 90-man roster to see how many players were on the roster at the start of training camp at the Greenbrier in July 2017. In less than one year’s time, 46 (!!) players that started training camp in West Virginia last season no longer remain on the roster. That doesn’t even count the players that arrived during the season and no longer remain (ex: Jelani Jenkins, Johnthan Banks). Less than half of the roster has turned over in that short of a time period. In comparison, the previous year, 35 players started training camp in 2016 and were no longer on the roster in the spring of 2017.
Of the 41 position players that are still on the roster since the start of training camp, only 24 of them played in 10 games or more in 2017. Of those 24, only 12 were considered starters that started/played 10 games or more in 2017. As a comparison, Jacksonville returns 18 starters that started/played 14 games or more in 2017.
Throw in changes in the front office, coaching staff and sports performance staff and there have been a lot of introductions taking place this spring. The good news is that the changes have had a significantly positive impact on the organization throughout the spring; talk to anyone in this building and they plainly see it. Hopefully, when the 2018 53-man roster is finalized, those changes will result in a historic season that we’ll never forget.
The Houston Texans roster in photos. (Updated 12/1/2019)
S, Mike Adams, 27
LB, Tyrell Adams, 50
S, Jahleel Addae, 37
TE, Jordan Akins, 88
P, Bryan Anger, 9
CB, Cornell Armstrong, 30
DE, Angelo Blackson, 97
WR, DeAndre Carter, 14
OL, Chris Clark, 77
CB, Gareon Conley, 22
WR, Keke Coutee, 16
CB, Keion Crossen, 35
ILB, Zach Cunningham, 41
DE, Brandon Dunn, 92
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, 7
TE, Darren Fells, 87
WR, Will Fuller, V, 15
OL, Zach Fulton, 73
FB, Cullen Gillaspia, 44
S, Tashaun Gipson, 39
CB, Vernon Hargreaves, 28
DE, Joel Heath, 93
WR, DeAndre Hopkins, 10
RB, Buddy Howell, 38
RB, Carlos Hyde, 23
RB, Duke Johnson, 25
CB, Lonnie Johnson, Jr., 32
OL, Roderick Johnson, 63
RB, Taiwan Jones, 34
CB, Johnathan Joseph, 24
OLB, Peter Kalambayi, 58
OL, Greg Mancz, 65
LB, Jacob Martin, 54
C, Nick Martin, 66
QB, AJ McCarron, 2
LB, Benardrick McKinney, 55
OLB, Whitney Mercilus, 59
LB, Barkevious Mingo, 52
WR, Steven Mitchell, Jr., 11
S, A.J. Moore, 33
DE, Charles Omenihu, 94
NT/DE, D.J. Reader, 98
S, Justin Reid, 20
CB, Bradley Roby, 21
OLB, Brennan Scarlett, 57
OL, Max Scharping, 74
WR, Kenny Stills, 12
TE, Jordan Thomas, 83
OL, Laremy Tunsil, 78
NT, Eddie Vanderdoes, 95
DL, Carlos Watkins, 91
QB, Deshaun Watson, 4
LS, Jon Weeks, 46
