HOUSTON – The Houston Texans open the 2021 NFL regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 12 at NRG Stadium. The Texans finished 2020 with a 4-12 record, third in the AFC South.
By hiring 53 new players since the end of last season, general manager Nick Caserio has generated a lot of turnover in a roster that only won four games in 2020. Can Houston recover its worst season since 2017 and do so without Deshaun Watson, who faces 22 lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct and is the FBI currently investigating these allegations?
The roster will drop to 53 players at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills, Deshaun Watson
Unless something changes with Watson’s legal status and the NFL puts him on the commissioner’s exemption list, the quarterback could start the season on Houston’s 53-man roster and be a good risk for the games. Taylor should start the first week, but when will they have to see Caserio and head coach David Culley to see if Mills has a shot at being the quarterback of the Texans ’future?
RUNNING BACK (4): David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, Mark Ingram II, Rex Burkhead
This is a very veteran room after Caserio signed Lindsay, Ingram and Burkhead during the offseason. Lindsay will be the Texans ’starting runner, while Johnson is expected to enter third downhill.
LARGE RECEIVER (6): Brandin Cooks, Keke Coutee, Nico Collins, Chris Conley, Alex Erickson, Andre Roberts
Cooks and Coutee will be the only receivers for the Texans to return after Will Fuller left for the free agency and Randall Cobb was traded to the Green Bay Packers during training camp. If Roberts forms the team, it will be because of his special team roles.
TIGHT END (3): Jordan Akins, Brevin Jordan, Pharaoh Brown
The Texans cut Kahale Warring after the third preseason game, ending their stint at Houston with three catches in seven games.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Laremy Tunsil, Max Scharping, Justin Britt, Tytus Howard, Charlie Heck, Justin McCray, Cole Toner, Geron Christian Sr., Jordan Steckler
Marcus Cannon could form the starting roster of 53 men and then move on to IR so he can return this season. The Texans could do the same with Lane Taylor if he’s not ready for the start of the regular season. Howard, Houston’s first-round pick in 2019, will move from right attack to left guard.
DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Ross Blacklock, Charles Omenihu, Jonathan Greenard, Whitney Mercilus, Jacob Martin, Maliek Collins, Jordan Jenkins, Roy Lopez, Shaq Lawson
The Texans defense will not only look very different with the change to Lovie Smith’s 4-3 defense, but it will also change without longtime Texans defensive end JJ Watt, who called for his release during the season. low. Omenihu impressed in the second preseason game with two sacks and a rebound in just 19 snapshots.
LINEBACKER (5): Zach Cunningham, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Christian Kirksey, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Garret Wallow
Cunningham, who signed a contract extension last year, is the only defender to have returned in that defense. Lovie Smith runs a friendly system with defenders and called Kirksey “our quarterback on the defensive side.”
CANTONER (6): Bradley Roby, Desmond King, Terrance Mitchell, Tremon Smith, Cornell Armstrong, Vernon Hargreaves
Roby will miss the first game of the season while serving the last game of his suspension for violating NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. John Reid, selected in the fourth round in 2020, was replaced before Houston’s third preseason game.
SECURITY (5): Justin Reid, Lonnie Johnson, Eric Murray, AJ Moore, Terrence Brooks
Johnson had a strong preseason and has shown his ability to intercept passes during training camp. For the first time in Reid’s career, he will play with the same two guarantees (Johnson and Murray) for the second consecutive season.
SPECIALIST (3): Ka’imi Fairbairn, Cameron Johnston, Jon Weeks
There was no competition in the field for the three specialists. Fairbairn, who scored 87.1 percent of his field goals last season, is back for his fourth season in Houston.