As the preseason comes to a close, teams start to really focus on roster construction. Most of the position battles are relatively settled except at the fringes of the roster, and teams are looking for ways to bolster depth at positions of weakness. The Houston Texans have some easy decisions to make when it comes to cut downs and a few difficult ones, like in the secondary and at receiver. Below are four Texans who will be looking elsewhere for employment.
QB Graham Mertz
The thought process behind this draft pick makes sense. Take a late round quarterback who has shown he has skills to be successful, but fell because of production and injury history, and hope those traits win out. Davis Mills is in the last year of his contract, and front offices are constantly looking for developmental QBs. The process was sound. The pick was not.
Mertz has struggled in the preseason. He got a decent amount of work in the first preseason game but struggled, with his 5 drives ending punt, punt, interception, interception, and interception. That's a tough look. Mertz barely got the opportunity to redeem himself in Week 2 of the preseason. He led three drives and completed his two pass attempts, but then led drives to a punt and a kneel-down. Again, not overly impressive.
Mertz has been outplayed by Kedon Slovis and looks to be fourth on the depth chart. He'll likely get a lot of playing time in the second half of the final preseason game. If he plays well, he could land on the practice squad. There's literally zero chance Mertz makes the 53-man roster.
WR Quintez Cephus
When a team starts signing additional players at your position at the end of the preseason and you aren't locked into a roster spot, that's not a good sign. The Texans felt comfortable enough with their roster to trade away John Metchie III earlier this week, but then made the decision to bring in Juwann Winfree and Cornell Powell. Cephus has contributed absolutely nothing during the preseason, making it difficult to view him as anything but a camp body.
Metchie was competing for time within the top 4 spots in the receiver rotation, something that couldn't be said about Cephus. Moving Metchie all but assures that the top 4 receivers are Nico Collins, Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, and Jaylin Noel. The rest of the depth chart includes Xavier Hutchinson, Braxton Berrios, and Justin Watson. Hutchinson is familiar with the Texans' system and played well last season. Berrios and Watson provide special teams value.
It's unlikely that Winfree and Powell do enough in the final preseason game to make the roster over Hutchinson, Berrios, or Watson, but the fact that they were signed means the other receivers in camp didn't show enough to even be in the conversation. The Texans have a young group at receiver, so unless Cephus blew them away in camp, it was a long shot that the veteran would make the team. Turns out those odds are now zero.
CB Damon Arnette
Arnette was a low-risk signing this offseason. He flamed out of the NFL after performance and legal issues. He found some success in the UFL, and the Texans felt comfortable enough with his off-field and personal issues to give him a chance to make the roster. Knowing that the top two spots were locked up and they spent a third-round pick on Jaylin Smith, the numbers game was stacked against him heading into camp.
Arnette showed why he was seen as a high upside draft pick in grabbing an interception against the Panthers in Week 2 of the preseason. However, he doesn't offer the versatility of other defensive backs on the bubble. Myles Bryant and Jalen Pitre can play multiple positions, and D'Angelo Ross plays a key role on special teams.
If he has an outstanding showing this week, he could push Ross out of a roster spot if he is willing to jump in on special teams. However, he has not particularly shone outside of his interception this preseason. Considering most of his time came against backups, Arnette only registered a 34.4 PFF grade despite his interception against the Panthers, and a slightly better 58.6 grade against the Vikings.
Arnette would have needed to dominate against backups to earn a roster spot, and those grades just don't add up to making the final roster.
TE Irv Smith Jr.
Dalton Schultz is securely the starting tight end, and Cade Stover is just as secure in his role as backup. Until the John Metchie III trade, Irv Smith Jr. seemed destined for the final 53-man roster. He's been a top receiving threat this preseason. However, his status changed when Harrison Bryant was brought to the roster.
One of the primary goals this year is to protect CJ Stroud. That was evident in the investment in the offensive line. Stover and Schultz are adequate enough, but Irv Smith Jr. definitely does not provide support there. Harrison Bryant does, though. While seeing Bryant on the field won't explicitly call out blocking, having Smith Jr. on the field almost always calls out his running a route.
He's performed well this preseason and that may be an attempt to stir up trade value now that Bryant is on the roster. It's not that Smith hasn't held up his end of the bargain in camp; it's just that he doesn't fill the role needed out of a third-string tight end.