Biggest surprises from the Texans' final roster cuts

Justin Churchill — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Aug 29, 2023 10:20 PM EDT

There is little to no doubt that this Houston Texans roster is better than the 2022 version we saw being trotted out on the field every week, just to be sacrificed for what is now C.J. Stroud. In 2023, we should see a roster that competes every week, no matter the opponent.

Now that we know what the initial 53-roster looks like, we also know how the team can improve in certain areas. We all know about the situation with the offensive line – Kenyon Green is out for the year, Juice Scruggs is dealing with a hamstring, and Tytus Howard has a hand injury – but other position groups could be better.

You can also argue that the Texans made some moves that they shouldn't have made, or had they not made, some position groups would be better off than they are right now. We like to classify that this time of year as surprise cuts – guys, we didn't think we would see on the transaction page. And man, the Texans had more than a few, but three really stood out.

Three surprise cuts by the Houston Texans

It's not easy cutting from 90 players to 53. Sometimes, you must make tough decisions in the team's best interest, whether right now or in the future. Sometimes, that means letting go of some really good players, too. The Texans had to do that on Tuesday.

Those guys were surprise cuts.

Desmond King, DB

There was a time when King was a good NFL player. When he played for the Los Angeles Chargers about two teams ago, he had an All-Pro season in 2018. Since then, he has been a good cornerback and then trailed off into an okay cornerback.

King didn't make the roster because of the other defensive backs. The Texans have a ton of young guys in their secondary, and they want to keep it young or younger so that they can develop talent, whereas King has already hit his ceiling and is only going downhill. King is a surprise cut because of the veteran presence he has, along with his versatility.

King played 37 defensive line snaps, 36 snaps in the box, four free safety snaps, 334 in the slot, and 505 on the outside as a corner in 2022. He will easily sign somewhere else and be a rotational player.

Jacob Martin, EDGE

Martin was on his second stent with the Houston Texans, which makes this cut surprising. From 2019-2021, Martin accumulated 10.5 sacks in 15 starts with Houston. He was a player the Texans really liked during the Bill O'Brien era. But, in 2022, he went to the New York Jets, and they traded him to the Denver Broncos at the trade deadline, shortly after Denver traded away Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins.

Martin signed back with the Texans this offseason on May 19 for one year, $2.5 million with one million in guarantees, according to Spotrac, another surprising reason for the cut. So the Texans really wanted him back on this roster, at least for this season. The Texans liked Kurt Hinish and Derek Rivers more than Martin, which is just the cherry on top of why the cut was surprising. I'm not saying Martin deserves to be on the roster, but he did have 25 quarterback pressures in just 155 pass-rush snaps last year, for what it's worth.

He will also be a guy who may be fine finding another job. He is a veteran with more than four accrued seasons, so he doesn't hit waivers but instead is just a free agent. So, the Texans could still bring him back after clearing some more space on the roster.

Cameron Dantzler, CB

I figured that Dantzler played his way onto the 53-man roster just by the way he played in the preseason. Now, he only played 35 total snaps, but he was amazing in those snaps against the New Orleans Saints. Sure, it makes sense that he didn't make the roster because the volume and snaps just aren't there. However, I have a rebuttal.

Why bring a guy in right before the final preseason game if he is going to play a near-perfect game and still not give him a shot at the 53-man roster? What is that purpose, other than he clears waivers, and you sign him to the practice squad? However, other teams have seen his amazing preseason performance and may sign him off of waives to their 53-man roster.

In his 35 snaps against the Saints, Dantzler finished with a Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 90.5, which is amazing. Of all defensive players who played at least 25 pass coverage snaps in the preseason, Dantzler finished with the sixth-highest grade, as he allowed two catches on four targets for 26 yards and, if I need to remind you, the game-sealing interception. The Texans blew an opportunity with the former third-round pick in the 2020 draft.

The Texans still have a chance to improve their roster, though. Teams can start signing players after the waiver claim period ends at 12 p.m. EST on Wednesday, August 30. Squads are comprised of 16 players. Two players can get called up to the active roster on game days, but that can only happen three times before their respective team has to sign them to the active roster.

The roster isn't completely finished yet.