The Texans place a premium on players who are dependable, tough and smart. To that end, Houston made a strong push to keep as many of them as they could in free agency.
Through the first few days of free agency, we saw the reports of receiver Randall Cobb and safety Eric Murray agreeing to terms with the Texans after stints in Dallas and Cleveland, respectively. But a dozen or so players agreed to terms with the Texans ahead of and during free agency as well.
On both sides of the ball, as well as on a special teams unit that's drastically improved over the last two seasons, Houston kept key components. Aside from Dylan Cole and Ka'imi Fairbairn, who were both undrafted rookies, every one of the players listed below came to town after at least one previous NFL stop.
Once the Texans saw what these players meant on the field, in the locker room and out in the community, they wanted to make sure they would stay around in 2020 and beyond.
LB Tyrell Adams
P Bryan Anger
WR/Returner DeAndre Carter
LB Dylan Cole
K Ka'imi Fairbairn
TE Darren Fells
CB Phillip Gaines
CB Vernon Hargreaves, III
OT Roderick Johnson
QB AJ McCarron
CB Bradley Roby
LS Jon Weeks
The Houston Texans roster in photos.
QB, Kyle Allen, #3 (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
DL Mario Addison (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
RB, Darius Anderson, #30
DB, Grayland Arnold, #35
TE, Antony Auclair, #83
DL, Ross Blacklock, #90
DL, Thomas Booker, #56 (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
OL, Justin Britt, #68
DB, Terrence Brooks, #8
TE, Pharaoh Brown, #85
RB, Rex Burkhead, #28
WR, Jalen Camp, #17
OL, A.J. Cann, #60 (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
LB, Blake Cashman, #53 (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
DL, Maliek Collins, #97
WR, Nico Collins, #12
WR, Chris Conley, #18
WR, Brandin Cooks, #13
WR, Davion Davis, #81
LB, Tae Davis, #19
OL Austin Deculus, #76 (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
WR, Phillip Dorsett, #2
QB, Jeff Driskel, #6
DL, Michael Dwumfour, #98
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, #7
RB, Royce Freeman, #26
OL, Carson Green, #62
DL, Jonathan Greenard, #52
WR, DaeSean Hamilton, #5 (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
OL, Kenyon Green, #59 (AP Photo/Sam Craft)
DL, Rasheem Green (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
LB, Kamu Grugier-Hill, #51
LB, Christian Harris, #48 (Photo by Kent Gidley)
DL, Demone Harris, #94
WR, Damon Hazelton, #86
OL, Charlie Heck, #67
LB, Neville Hewitt, #43
QB, Kevin Hogan (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
OL, Tytus Howard, #71
DL, Jerry Hughes (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
FB, Andy Janovich, #41 (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)
An image from the Aug. 21, 2021 Houston Texans preseason game 2 against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Texans won 20-14.
P, Cameron Johnston, #11
TE, Brevin Jordan, #9
DB, Desmond King II, #25
LB, Christian Kirksey, #58
DL, Roy Lopez, #91
RB, Marlon Mack, #2 (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
OL, Justin McCray, #64
WR, John Metchie III, #88 (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)
QB, Davis Mills, #10
WR, Chris Moore, #15
DB, Jimmy Moreland, #22
OL, Jimmy Morrissey, #79
DB, Eric Murray, #23
DB, Steven Nelson (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
OL, Cedric Ogbuehi, #77 (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
RB, Dare Ogunbowale, #33 (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
LB, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)
DB, Jonathan Owens, #36
RB, Dameon Pierce, #31 (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
LB, Kevin Pierre-Louis, #57
DB, Jalen Pitre, #42 (AP Photo/Tim Heitman)
FB, Paul Quessenberry, #45
OL, Scott Quessenberry, #54 (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)
TE, Teagan Quitoriano, #84 (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
LB, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, #34 (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
DL, Derek Rivers, #95
DB, Reggie Robinson, #29 (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
OL, Max Scharping, #74
DB, Tremon Smith, #24
OL, Jordan Steckler, #70
DB, M.J. Stewart, #21 (Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini)
DB, Derek Stingley Jr., #24 (Photo by: Kourtney Carroll)
DB, Tavierre Thomas, #37
OL, Laremy Tunsil, #78
LB, Garret Wallow, #32
LS, Jon Weeks #46
DB, Isaac Yiadom, #20 (AP)
