Houston Texans: Players who could be released

The Houston Texans have some candidates who could be cut from the roster in 2019.

Even though the Houston Texans had a rather successful season — winning 11 games and the AFC South title —  there were tons of players who did not play up to expectations. With the Texans entering free agency with pretty specific needs, here are some cut candidates.

Whether it’s due to their own play, or due to the need to clear as much cap as possible, these players could find themselves on their way out of Houston this offseason.

First off, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was a great move for the Texans. They picked up a solid second receiver to replace the injured Will Fuller, and he played well while healthy, but Thomas should theoretically get released this offseason.

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After tearing his Achilles in Week 16, Thomas likely won’t be back before Week 12 of next season. With a top-three of DeAndre Hopkins, Fuller, and Keke Coutee, it’s not necessary to hold on to Thomas for only five games of work. If kept, Thomas will count for $14 million against the cap, none of which is dead cap, according to OverTheCap.

Next on the list is tight end Ryan Griffin as he is not on an expensive contract, at only $2.6 million, according to OverTheCap, but the details of the contract also have no dead cap space. With that, it’s time to question whether or not Griffin has a role on this team. He had an alright season in 2018, but it may be time to pass the tight end reigns off to Jordan Akins or Jordan Thomas. They all have similar styles and Akins or Thomas would be able to cover the playing time.

Another possible cut candidate, and probably the toughest of them to admit is Whitney Mercilus. Mercilus has been great for the Texans for years, and as much as the fans love him, he doesn’t have a role on this defense anymore.

After spending the 2017 season injured, Mercilus only started nine games in 2018 and had the least amount of sacks in any season that he has been healthy with only four. Running a 3-4 defense scheme, Jadeveon Clowney rushes the passer as the JACK, but Mercilus is losing his grasp on the WILL position due to difficulty in coverage. If Mercilus can’t cover, and he can’t rush the quarterback effectively, then why not save $6.25 million according to OverTheCap.com by cutting him.

The last cut candidate is special teams player Johnson Bademosi who was signed as a free agent last offseason. He is a very good special teams player, and there was some hope that he would get some playing time at cornerback after a rather large contract. That didn’t happen though.

Bademosi barely played and was not very effective in a cornerback group that really could have used the help. If he were to cut, I don’t think it would be noticeable to many Texans fans that he is no longer there as the team can save $2.75 million.

The Texans are in a good spot financially going into the offseason, but clearing up some extra cap space wouldn’t hurt, especially with Clowney, Kareem Jackson and Tyrann Mathieu all hitting the market.

It helps also that for the three players that could be cut that played last season have good, young backups. Behind Thomas is Coutee, and backing up Griffin is Akins and Thomas. Don’t forget, learning behind Mercilus is both Kalambayi and Ejiofor.

The Texans can get rid of any of these players, and lose very little on the field, while gaining mass amounts of ammo for the free agent market this offseason.