Houston Texans: Reinforcement brought to solidify depth on defense

Houston Texans have brought preseason standout inside linebacker Josh Keyes back to their team.

The Houston Texans made an underrated move bringing inside linebacker Josh Keyes back to the roster. After being a surprise cut by the Texans during their cut down to the final 53-man roster, Keyes was signed to the Washington Redskins.

A player who proved to be worthy of a roster spot for the Texans, Keyes wasn’t able to latch onto another team after being released by the Redskins, but he will be a great player to have on the backend of the roster.

The Texans opted to release Keyes during the preseason in favor of keeping the rookie linebacker Peter Kalambayi, but with Dylan Cole being placed on the IR, it opened the opportunity for Texans general manager Brian Gaine to bring Keyes back to the team.

Keyes had a solid preseason contributing both in the defense and special teams. He had a combined of 23 tackles and made plenty of plays in the four games he played in the Texans’ preseason.

With Keyes brought back to the roster, the Texans had to make a subsequent move, and they elected to release inside linebacker Tyrell Adams according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, who first reported the move in his Twitter account:

This is a solid move for the front office and coaching staff, and it could pay dividends down the road if Keyes is able to translate what he showed in the preseason to the regular season. The Texans now have Benardrick McKinney, Zach Cunningham, Brian Peters, Kalambayi, and Keyes at inside linebacker.

Seven games into the regular season, bringing a player familiar with the defensive scheme that defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel wants to run and working on special teams with special teams coordinator Brad Seely is a plus.

It is entirely feasible if everything goes well for him throughout the week in practice that he could be active on the 46 game day roster to play vs. the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. Peters has been injured with an ankle injury that has kept him from playing the last couple of weeks.

The Texans needed a player like Keyes who is capable of playing inside linebacker in a pinch and provide the team with good play on special teams.