The Houston Texans updated 53-man roster, in photos. (Updated 1/3/2019)

LB, Tyrell Adams, 50

TE, Jordan Akins, 88

DB, Johnson Bademosi, 23

DE, Angelo Blackson, 97

RB, Alfred Blue, 28

CB, Deante Burton, 39

WR, DeAndre Carter, 14

OLB, Jadeveon Clowney, 90

LB, Dylan Cole, 51

CB, Aaron Colvin, 22

WR, Keke Coutee, 16

DE, Christian Covington, 95

ILB, Zach Cunningham, 41

P, Trevor Daniel, 8

OL, JuliƩn Davenport, 70

DE, Brandon Dunn, 92

DE, Duke Ejiofor, 53

K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, 7

RB, D'Onta Foreman, 27

OL, Zach Fulton, 73

TE, Ryan Griffin, 84

S, Andre Hal, 29

DE, Joel Heath, 93

WR, DeAndre Hopkins, 10

S, A.J. Hendy, 37


CB, Kareem Jackson, 25

OL, Roderick Johnson, 63

CB, Johnathan Joseph, 24

OLB, Peter Kalambayi, 58

OL, Senio Kelemete, 64

LB, Josh Keyes, 49

OT, Kendall Lamm, 63

OL, Greg Mancz, 65

C, Nick Martin, 66

S, Tyrann Mathieu, 32

LB, Benardrick McKinney, 55

OLB, Whitney Mercilus, 59

RB, Lamar Miller, 26

WR, Steven Mitchell, Jr., 11

S, A.J. Moore, 33

OL, Martinas Rankin, 75

NT/DE, D.J. Reader, 98

S, Justin Reid, 20

WR, Vyncint Smith, 17

TE, Jordan Thomas, 83

DL, Carlos Watkins, 91

DL, Carlos Watkins, 91


DE, J.J. Watt, 99

DE, J.J. Watt, 99

QB, Joe Webb, III, 5

QB, Brandon Weeden, 5

LS, Jon Weeks, 46

CB, Shareece Wright, 43
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Thereās no such thing as the final 53-man roster. This thing might be changing as I type this. But the Texans got down to 53 well before the deadline and raised some eyebrows along the way.
First, many of the āsurprisesā were things John Harris and I have been yapping about on Texans Radio for weeks, if not months. I donāt say this to radio-brag (ok, maybe Iām bragging a little). I say this as a reminder that you need to be listening to Texans All Access each weeknight at 6 pm on Sports Radio 610 to stay plugged in to whatās going on with the team (or listen to the podcasts of the shows).
Itās hard to tell a player not to ātake it personallyā if heās been released. But Iām thinking Jay Prosch should just understand that the Texans probably werenāt going to use his services in the backfield much with Deshaun Watson at the helm. Sure, youāll see some offset āIā formation, but itāll be a tight end at fullback, as that position can go out for an array of pass routes.
Speaking of tight ends, there are four. MyCole Pruit survived the cuts because heās tough and versatile and maybe the team kept in mind what happened after week one last year when all the tight ends were unavailable for the second game.
Six receivers are on the 53. Sammy Coates seemed to catch everything thrown his way. And heās going to be a factor on special teams. Vyncint Smith was impossible not to notice during camp. His size, speed and hands make for a tantalizing combination. Bill OāBrien acknowledged Braxton Miller had improved but these are the tough decisions of limited spots on an NFL roster.
The team hit the deadline with eight offensive linemen, so there might be an acquisition on the way. They simply kept their best eight. It was difficult to see David Quessenberry walk out of the building. Kendall Lamm has graded out better on the analytics sites and apparently by the team as well.
In the secondary, Jermaine Kelly is a rookie corner whoās been banged up but they like him enough to give it a go on the initial 53.
And another surprise to some was the release of Shane Lechler. Anyone watching closely could tell you that Trevor Daniel had been punting the ball to the moon. Now he needs to do it with games on the line. Lechler still punted well enough to keep playing but Daniel was that good.
Itās a good time to point out how quickly teams evolve. There are only eight players left from Bill OāBrienās first season in 2014. Eight! And only 16 left from 2015, the Hard Knocks season. Itās the new and improved Texans and theyāre ready to take the field against New England September 9th.