The final week of the preseason is upon us.
Thursday night's game at NRG Stadium versus the Cowboys is the final one before the Week 1 opener at New England. A chunk of the Texans roster won't see a minute of action against Dallas. A spot is secure on the team, and that portion of the team gets rested for the Patriots.
But there are 90 men on the current roster, and in five short days it'll get trimmed down to 53. So for many, how they perform Thursday evening will determine whether or not they make the final cut, which comes at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday.
"Very important," head coach Bill O'Brien said Monday. "It's a tough week. Certainly there are some guys that are on the team. But the majority of guys are fighting for a spot. That's the majority of the team. That's a tough week for those guys."
Livelihoods will change. O'Brien said he doesn't relish having to make those cuts, but acknowledged that it's part of the job.
"Relative to me, any time you have to release a player, that's not fun," O'Brien said. "These guys have really worked hard for us but everybody in the League works under the same rules."
The Texans and Cowboys will kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Houston Texans roster in photos. (Updated 6/14/2021)
TE, Jordan Akins, #88
DL, Auzoyah Alufohai, #98
DB, Cornell Armstrong, #3
TE, Antony Auclair, #83
DL, Ross Blacklock, #90
OL, Justin Britt, #68
DB, Terrence Brooks, #29
TE, Pharaoh Brown, #85
RB, Rex Burkhead, #28
OL, Marcus Cannon, #61
DB, Shyheim Carter, #38
OL, Geron Christian Sr., #72
WR, Randall Cobb, #18
DL, Maliek Collins, #97
WR, Nico Collins, #84
WR, Chris Conley, #17
WR, Brandin Cooks, #13
WR, Isaiah Coulter, #82
WR, Keke Coutee, #16
DB, Keion Crossen, #35
LB, Zach Cunningham, #41
LB, Tae Davis, #55
QB, Jeff Driskel, #6
DL, Brandon Dunn, #92
WR, Alex Erickson, #14
LS, Mitchell Fraboni
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, #7
OL, Hjalte Froholdt, #77
OL, Carson Green, #62
LB, Jonathan Greenard, #52
LB, Kamu Grugier-Hill, #51
LB, Nate Hall, #47
DB, Vernon Hargreaves III, #26
WR, Damon Hazelton, #86
OL, Charlie Heck, #67
LB, Neville Hewitt, #43
RB, Dontrell Hilliard, #22
OL, Tytus Howard, #71
RB, Buddy Howell, #8
RB, Mark Ingram, #2
TE, Ryan Izzo, #81
DL, Jordan Jenkins, #50
RB, David Johnson, #31
DL, Jaleel Johnson, #91
DB, Lonnie Johnson Jr., #1
OL, Roderick Johnson, #63
P, Cameron Johnston, #11
TE, Brevin Jordan, #9
DB, Desmond King II, #25
LB, Christian Kirksey, #58
DL, Shaq Lawson, #93
RB, Phillip Lindsay, #30
DL, Roy Lopez, #79
DL, Jacob Martin, #54
OL, Ryan McCollum, #75
OL, Justin McCray, #64
DL, Whitney Mercilus, #59
QB, Davis Mills, #10
DB, Terrance Mitchell, #39
WR, Donte Moncrief, #12
DB, A.J. Moore Jr., #33
WR, Chris Moore, #15
DB, Eric Murray, #23
LB, Hardy Nickerson, #56
DL, Charles Omenihu, #94
DB, Jonathan Owens, #36
RB, Scottie Phillips, #27
LB, Kevin Pierre-Louis, #57
TE, Paul Quessenberry, #45
DB, John Reid, #34
DB, Justin Reid, #20
DL, Derek Rivers, #95
WR, Andre Roberts, #19
DB, Bradley Roby, #21
OL, Max Scharping, #74
DB, Tremon Smith, #24
OL, Jordan Steckler, #70
OL, Lane Taylor, #65
WR, Taywan Taylor, #37
QB, Tyrod Taylor, #5
DL, Vincent Taylor, #96
LB, Joe Thomas, #48
DB, Tavierre Thomas, #42
OL, Cole Toner, #66
OL, Laremy Tunsil, #78
DL, DeMarcus Walker, #44
LB, Garret Wallow, #32
TE, Kahale Warring, #87
QB, Deshaun Watson, #4
LS, Jon Weeks #46
