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. (Updated 9/7/2020)
ILB, Tyrell Adams #50
TE, Jordan Akins, 88
P, Bryan Anger, 9
CB, Cornell Armstrong, 30
DT, Ross Blacklock #90
WR, DeAndre Carter, 14
WR, Randall Cobb #18
ILB, Dylan Cole, 51
CB, Gareon Conley, 22
WR, Brandin Cooks #13
WR, Isaiah Coulter #82
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
CB, Phillip Gaines #29
FB, Cullen Gillaspia, 44
OLB, Jonathan Greenard #52
NT, P.J. Hall #96
CB, Vernon Hargreaves III #26
T, Charlie Heck #67
OL, Tytus Howard, 71
RB, Buddy Howell, 38
CB, Lonnie Johnson, Jr., 32
RB, David Johnson #31
RB, Duke Johnson, 25
T, Roderick Johnson #63
OLB, Peter Kalambayi, 58
OL, Senio Kelemete, 64
LB, Jacob Martin, 54
C, Nick Martin, 66
QB, AJ McCarron #2
LB, Benardrick McKinney, 55
OLB, Whitney Mercilus, 59
S, A.J. Moore, 33
S Eric Murray #23
DE, Charles Omenihu, 94
CB, John Reid #34
S, Justin Reid, 20
CB, Bradley Roby #21
OLB, Brennan Scarlett, 57
OL, Max Scharping, 74
WR, Kenny Stills, 12
TE, Jordan Thomas, 83
S, Michael Thomas #28
OL, Laremy Tunsil, 78
TE, Kahale Warring, 81
DL, Carlos Watkins, 91
QB, Deshaun Watson, 4
DE, J.J. Watt, 99
