Houston Texans Cut Roster Down to 53 Players

When Houston Texans' training camp started back in late July, and I was constructing my first mock 53 man roster, it felt like I was having to coax myself into the last five or six guys on the roster. In other words, I was having trouble finding 47 or 48 NFL caliber players on the Texans, let alone 53. So if there is one compliment I can pay Nick Caserio and his staff it's that the team's cuts on Tuesday morning to get down to 53 included some players I DEFINITELY thought were making this team.

As of this writing, here is the list of players cut by the Texans on Tuesday:

RB Marlon Mack
LB Kevin Pierre Louis
S Terrence Brooks
QB Jeff Driskel
CB Kendall Sheffield
FB Paul Quessenberry
S Grayland Arnold
CB Fabian Moreau
K Matt Ammendola
FB Andy Janovich
LB Tae Davis
WR Chester Rogers
DL Demone Harris
C Jimmy Morrissey
TE Seth Green
WR Drew Estrada
CB Jacobi Francis
G Max Scharping
T Cedric Ogbuehi
WR Jalen Camp
WR Johnny Johnson III
CB Tristin McCollum
DL Adedayo Odeleye
OL Jordan Steckler
OL Tre'Vour Wallace-Simms
WR Connor Wedington
TE Antony Auclair
WR Chris Conley
TE Mason Schreck
CB Isaac Yiadom

Also, add in the trade of Ross Blacklock to the Minnesota Vikings for a late round draft pick to the transactions executed on Tuesday. In fact, let's start there with my thoughts on Tuesday's purge:

The Ross Blacklock Era is, mercifully, over
With the trade of Blacklock to the Vikings, along with a 7th round pick, for a 6th round pick, we can finally close the book on the DeAndre Hopkins trade (unless that 6th round pick turns into Tom Brady, and then we'll revisit, I suppose). The trade that essentially turned into Hopkins for Blacklock and David Johnson was an unmitigated disaster on every level. Sadly, it gets lost in a sea of bad moves by Bill O'Brien as the general manager of the football team. Bad trades, drunken sailor spending in free agency, burning draft picks like they were cigarettes — hallmarks of, quite possibly, the worst front office employee in NFL history. In fact, there's more!

Max Scharping's fall from football grace
Ross Blacklock wasn't the only former second round pick jettisoned in Tuesday's roster bloodletting. Left guard Max Scharping, a starter back in his rookie season in 2019, was let go, as well. For one season, it looked like there was a chance Scharping could be a building block for the next several years. That story ended this past season, with the final chapter written the night the Texans drafted Kenyon Green, and the book finally slammed shut on Scharping on Tuesday. The Texans' history over the past half dozen years, in the second round of the NFL draft, deserves its own post.

Marlon Mack's release means, for now, it is a heavy load on Dameon Pierce
There were a few minor surprises on Tuesday, when the cuts were announced. Safety Terrence Brooks was a bit of a surprise, as he began the summer program as a starter. Similarly, linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis was listed first on the depth chart a few weeks ago, and he was cut, too. Running back Marlon Mack was probably the biggest surprise in a group of mild (at best) surprises. Mack, a former 1,000 yard rusher, just never really looked like the Mack of old, which was logical given his Achilles injury in 2020 and microscopic workload in 2021 behind Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. For now, it looks like the Texans will lean heavily on rookie running back Dameon Pierce, although it feels like there is another move coming at the running back position.

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