The Houston Hook: Texans surprise decision to 53-man roster

The Houston Hook looks at 53-man roster decisions for the Houston Texans and the rest of the AFC South.

It was an interesting Tuesday for the Houston Texans as many roster moves were made to get to the 53-man roster limit by 4 p.m. ET, and there were some surprising decisions made, including the release of Keke Coutee.

Unless the Houston Texans bring in a player who just makes all of us go “wow,” this wasn’t the best decision made, as it has been written before about Coutee on this site that he has so much potential to become a solid NFL wide receiver. Injuries and a new front office didn’t help the chances of Coutee staying on the Houston roster this season.

The Houston Texans wide receiver depth chart at the deadline on Tuesday includes Brandin Cooks, Anthony Miller, Andre Roberts, Nico Collins and Chris Conley. The only wide receiver on that list the Texans have drafted is Collins, who is a rookie the Texans drafted in the third round in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Another cut made by the Texans this week that was a bit of a surprise was Buddy Howell, but it is understandable because the competition was at running back was a battle. The final running back depth chart for now is Mark Ingram, David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, Scottie Phillips and Rex Burkhead.

That isn’t such a bad group of running backs, but Phillips outplayed Howell this preseason, and that is why he got the job.

Houston Texans news: AFC South could be better than expected

At least going into Week 1, the two teams who could make the playoffs from the AFC South are the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans. They are both strong competitors, and both have the ability and talent to be the top two teams in the division once again once they get over their varying issues at quarterback and the COVID-19 protocol.

Here is a look at each team through FanSided NFL sites:

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Jerry Trotta of Horseshoe Heroes wrote about Colts fans “having the right to worry” as it concerned rookie safety Shawn Davis, because fans weren’t happy when the Colts used a draft pick back in April to select him in the fifth round.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: Carlos Sanchez of Black and Teal had roster takeaways for decisions made by Urban Meyer and the Jaguars this week.

TENNESSEE TITANS: The Titans cut Dez Fitzpatrick, but Will Lomas of Titan Sized gave reasons why Titan fans shouldn’t be worried.