5 Houston Texan players playing for their jobs this preseason

The Houston Texans are getting ready to face off with the Miami Dolphins at NRG Stadium for their second preseason game of the year. No doubt all eyes will be on C.J. Stroud once again. Hopefully, he'll play a little more this time around but more importantly, let's see if the offensive line can give him adequate protection.

Several players are battling for roster spots, and this will be another huge week and opportunity for many of them to earn those spots. Some players are a given to make the roster but not all and especially some of the veteran players who have rookies or young players trying to earn their spot on the roster.

We know players like Stroud are a lock, as is Will Anderson Jr. Other players I consider locks are Devin Singletary and Dameon Pierce. Several of the free agent players the Texans brought in should be safe to but even some of those might be in a dog fight with an upstart rookie or youngster, looking to make a name for himself.

The Texans are in a clear rebuild, so in some cases, it doesn't make much sense to hold on to a veteran player, especially if the team can save some money on the cap down the road. I'm a big fan of letting your rookies play right away in this situation. The fastest way to speed up a player's learning curve and find out what you have in that player is by throwing them into the fire and seeing how they respond.