For the 53 men who are part of the Texans’ main roster, they got their good news yesterday. For the time being, they are all Houston Texans. However, for several more players, the path to the NFL is a little more jagged, oftentimes having to include a stint with a team’s practice squad. On Wednesday, the Houston Texans announced their practice squad for the upcoming season, extending the NFL dream for those players.
Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans view the practice squad as an important roster component, as the team is allowed to elevate two players from the practice squad for each regular season game. It’s really an annex to the 53 man roster. Here is the list of players on the team’s practice squad. Of course, this will all change throughout the season with injuries and performance;
LB Zeke Turner
DE Solomon Byrd
DT Marcus Harris
OL Cameron Erving
OL David Sharpe
WR Johnny Johnson
OL Kilian Zierer
FB Troy Hairston
RB J.J. Taylor
LB Max Tooley
DE Malik Fisher
CB D’Angelo Ross
DE Ali Gaye might be the one that got away
During the second and third preseason games for the Texans, no player played mroe snaps than former undrafted free agent Ali Gaye. The rangy defensive end out of LSU played 33 snaps against the Steelers and 43 snaps against the Giants. He was playing in the first quarter and he was playing in the fourth quarter. Clearly, the team saw something in him, but not enough to make him part of the 53 man roster. Well, now they won’t get that chance, as the Tennessee Titans picked up Gaye off of waivers. The Texans were hoping he would clear waivers so they could sign him to the practice squad, but the Titans had other ideas. First, the steal the Oilers, and now, they steal Ali Gaye.
FB Troy Hairston is getting a reprieve, of sort
Despite all the good feelings regarding rookie British Brooks making the team as a makeshift fullback, the fullback position still feels very much in flux. It’s too bad, because Hairston might have been able to seize it in the final preseason game. Instead, he had four holding penalties, which is enough for me to say that I never want him to play fullback EVER for my team. The Texans, though, are more forgiving than I am, and they’ve resigned Hairston, and are giving him another look.
Who is this Zeke Turner fellow?
Most of the names on this list are recognizable for Texans fans, as they’ve been with the team for, at a minimum, this training camp. Turner is a new name in the mix, and he’s been around a while. The 28 year old played for San Francisco last season as a linebacker and special teamer, and was an all-rookie pick for the Arizona Cardinals after being undrafted out of Washington several seasons ago. He plays most of his snaps on special teams, and has 83 career tackles.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
