Houston Texans Daily Roundup: Roster cuts made

The Houston Texans made needed roster cuts, as all NFL teams are getting their rosters down to 53 players before the end of Saturday.

Making roster cuts and trimming down the roster to 53 players has forced the Houston Texans to make some decisions that fans will like and dislike. On Friday, they made a decision to cut three players in offensive tackle Roderick Johnson, punter Shane Lechler, offensive lineman David Quessenberry, wide receiver Braxton Miller and others. None of those players are complete difference makers, but in the case of Miller, he was a third-round pick and Lechler played for the franchise the past four seasons.

Once the Texans roster finally takes shape at 53 players, they will have a team that should be able to contend for the AFC South title if Deshaun Watson stays healthy and continues from where he left off from last season. The Texans won just once after Watson tore his ACL, resulting in the 4-12 overall record.

As for those who were released, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle wrote about cornerback Dee Virgin being released in his cuts tracker article:

"“The Texans cut reserve cornerback Dee Virgin. Virgin had eight tackles and an interception against the Dallas Cowboys, but had lost ground when the team signed former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Kayvon Webster.”"

My guess was Virgin was going to make the roster, but with the addition of Webster, he was just not able to fit in with the defense as other spots on the roster need depth too. Either way, Virgin should get a shot elsewhere on an NFL roster or practice squad, but the Texans believe they made the right move here and hopefully it works out for them.

• Mark Lane of TexansWire.USAToday.com made a good reminder that the Texans are listed as the fourth team on waiver wire priority if they want to claim any of the players released from the rest of the other 31 NFL teams this weekend. Lane wrote in a recent article, quoting Texans head coach Bill O’Brien:

"“I’m not going to get into the details of it, but they have projected lists and they’ve been looking at guys and watching thousands of guys to see what may happen relative to what teams may do,” O’Brien said.”"

This is very important to remember, and who knows, some of the players on the waiver wire could be a better player than who the Texans cut. This is something to watch out for in the ensuing days ahead.

• Another cut made by the Texans was fullback Jay Prosch, as last year he signed a three-year contract extension. Mark Inabinett of AL.com wrote about the former Auburn standout following his release:

"“Prosch helped clear the way for running back Lamar Miller to rush for more than 1,000 yards last season. In 2014, Arian Foster ran for 1,246 yards while working with the rookie fullback.”"

I’m not sure this is the best move the Texans could have made. They need to have a true fullback to block for their rushing game, especially with the Texans’ offensive line not being the greatest and one that has question marks. All teams should have a true fullback on their roster, and with Prosch, he did help Miller and Foster have 1-000 yard rushing seasons, so we’ll see if this works out for the offense sooner rather than later.

• Tweet of the Day

Releasing a future Hall of Fame punter or at least one in the conversation at a seriously high level had to be tough for the Texans and their coaching staff.

Football is a business, and though this was probably a business decision, Shane Lechler was out-played by Trevor Daniel this offseason and preseason. Lechler will most likely get a job elsewhere, and both the Texans and Lechler will move on.