Houston Texans: The four most surprising 2017 roster cuts

The Houston Texans roster of 53 men is set and there were four head-turners in terms of the decisions that the team made to shape.

The NFL-mandated deadline of 3 p.m. for the Houston Texans went hard and fast. Rick Smith, Bill O’Brien and the rest of the team’s brass had to make a quick decision based off of three preseason games instead of four because of the cancellation of the last match up with the Dallas Cowboys because of Hurricane Harvey.

But in most cases, teams have an idea of who they want to keep on the roster by the third week so this likely was an easier decision that we may think but they had to do it quickly mixed in with all the work they’re already doing in the community.

Here are four surprising roster cuts that the Houston Texans made:

Nick Novak

The veteran Houston Texans place kicker for the past two seasons seemed to be a sure lock to make the team. Nick Novak wasn’t used all that much in the preseason which certainly alluded to him being saved for the regular season. But in all reality, it was opportunity for his counterpart, Ka’imi Fairbairn, to show what he had.

Barring the first preseason game where he missed a key field goal early, he has been solid since, connecting on all three of his remaining field goals. He also has displayed greater strength from his leg, averaging 65 yards per kickoff and seven touch backs.

Novak averaged the same amount of yards per kickoff but no touch backs, which is critical for field positioning. And that, my friends, is the reason why Fairbairn is our new kicker. Fairbairn, who was an undrafted free agent last season, was injured but the Texans still remained committed to him while he earned a whopping $330K in salary.

In comparison, Novak signed a one-year, $1.15 million deal with the Texans in the off season but now that he’s cut, he’ll just get his signing bonus of $250K.

Brandon Weeden

The “Crimson Cannon” is no more in H-Town. After two seasons of mostly riding the pine, Brandon Weeden no longer has a job as a signal-caller. This move shocked me a bit because with our past history of quarterbacks being healthy, it has been O’Brien modus operandi to carry three QBs. But the fact they’re not goes to show the level of confidence they have in Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson.

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They obviously feel that if an emergency QB were needed, they could sign someone off the street, opening the door for Weeden to be on speed dial just in case he’s needed. Watson is as durable as they come so it’s understandable the need for a third QB wouldn’t be prudent.

It’s standard procedure for a team to dress two QB every game anyway. Weeden can always hang his hat on being the QB to engineer the first win in Indianapolis in franchise history, a feat that he completed late in the 2015 season while filling in for an injured T.J. Yates.

David Quessenberry

The news that David Quessenberry was cut was extremely shocking to me but I totally understand. Considering what that man has gone through with his battle to beat cancer, this certainly wasn’t the kind of news that he wanted to hear.

I personally thought he should’ve made the 53-Man Roster because he had shown enough that he could be a solid guard for us going into the season. I have to be honest, he didn’t “wow” me with his efforts but he certainly made enough of a case to be here.

But when you think about it, other than the game against the New England Patriots, when did the unit as whole “wow” anybody? The latest word is that he’s strong candidate for the practice squad, barring that he does clear waivers. I certainly hope so as this guy is deserving to be a professional football player.

K.J. Dillon

K.J. Dillon, our 5th rounder from last season has already been cut from the roster. He has been injured a bunch in the early-goings in his career, but did appear in five games last season, amassing five tackles thus far. He also had three this preseason as well. I thought that he’d shown enough to be worthy of a roster spot, especially with the depth issues we currently have at safety. He’s eligible for the practice squad and the Texans certainly have their eyes set on him being there, barring that he doesn’t clear waivers as well. I think he’s certainly a keeper to develop but we’ll have to see how things go in terms of his future with this team.

Next: Predicting the Texans 53-Man Roster by Position

These were my most stunning cuts that I saw on this roster and I hope these guys land on both feet quickly. This is just the nature of the business of pro football; although we have the right to question, we just have to trust that the Texans brass knows what they’re doing to keep this team at the utmost of competitiveness.

Go Texans.

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