Texans morning huddle: The cuts are in
By Randy Gurzi
The Houston Texans made the roster moves needed to get the roster down to 53 players, today’s links include stories surrounding the moves made.
Vandermeer’s View: Expect more roster changes – by Marc Vandermeer of HoustonTexans.com
"The roster is finally at 53 players. But if you know Bill O’Brien and Rick Smith it is a lot more like clay than concrete.Expect more adjustments in the coming days.Flash back to last year when Damaris Johnson and Daryl Morris were part of the mix on opening day. A week prior to that they weren’t on any Texans fan’s radar. I would expect less of this kind of thing this year but don’t count out some late pick ups. And don’t celebrate too much for any of your favorite bubble players who ‘made the squad.’ They could be gone as the team fortifies certain position groups.It’s too bad that Tom Savage sees his second pro season end before it got started. Not that he was going to play much, if at all, this year but his ‘insurance policy’ and developmental role is on hold for another campaign as he gets placed on injured reserve.You have to be happy for Keshawn Martin. There was tremendous competition at wide receiver. Two were drafted, two veterans came in and Martin practiced and improved and survived the Saturday cuts.By now you’re reading about some of your favorite Hard Knocks supporting role players getting released but there’s still practice squad potential for most. Some will get picked up by other teams."
Texans place QB Tom Savage on injured reserve – by Tania Ganguli of ESPN
"The Houston Texans placed quarterback Tom Savage on injured reserve after Savage suffered a shoulder sprain against the Dallas Cowboys in the Texans’ fourth preseason game.The injury will not need surgery, Texans coach Bill O’Brien said.Savage suffered the injury when he was sacked in the fourth quarter in Arlington, Texas. Until then Savage completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 135 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The second-year quarterback was set to be the Texans’ third quarterback behind starter Brian Hoyer and backup Ryan Mallett.With Savage on the roster, the Texans had planned to keep three quarterbacks. Without him, they might opt for adding a quarterback to their practice squad for scout team purposes. Many teams carry only two quarterbacks on their active roster — the Texans have in the past."
Texans Rookie Chad Slade Placed On IR – by Patrick Starr of Scout.com
"Houston Texans rookie offensive lineman Chad Slade had a back issue that kept him out of the last preseason game, had surgery and was placed on injured reserve.Slade was looking for options on his back but he has surgery last Friday and was placed on the injured reserve.A left guard coming out of Auburn, the Texans started giving looks at right tackle to see if he could handle that position too. Slade was signed as a rookie free agent out of Auburn where he four year starter playing both guard and tackle. Slade appeared in all three preseason games but missed the final one against the Dallas Cowboys. The reason was unknown at the time but now it appears the back issue was the cause."
Bill O’Brien: Clowney has come a long way, is ready for Week 1 – by Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com
"Texans coach Bill O’Brien has no doubt that defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will be good to go when Houston opens the season against the Chiefs.O’Brien said he isn’t sure if the Texans will limit Clowney’s plays early in the season in an effort to keep his surgically repaired knee healthy, but there’s little doubt that Clowney will be on the field next Sunday.“I don’t know if I have a pitch count yet ready for him for the first game, but I think he’s come a long way,” O’Brien said, via the Houston Chronicle. “He’s been out there practicing. We’ve done a lot of things with him on the field that involve contact, that involve a lot of the moves that he’s going to have to make, whether it’s in the running game or dropping into pass coverage, which he’ll do some of that, or rushing the passer. Obviously, he’ll do some of that. I think he’s come a long way. I don’t know as far as how many plays or anything like that, but I do anticipate him playing in that game.”"