While the Houston Texans were focused on rebuilding the offense in the early rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, other teams desired to rebuild struggling defenses. Houston has one of the best young defensive units in the NFL, yet C.J. Stroud led an offense that wasn't ready to compete at the highest level.
Houston has done a strong job in building the roster in recent years, though not all decisions have been good ones.
To that degree, one failed Texans draft pick was just unfortunately cut by his new team immediately after the NFL Draft.
#Patriots release Jake Andrews, Marcus Harris, JaQuae Jackson, Titus Leo, Mark Perry, Giovanni Ricci
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 28, 2025
Former Texans DT Marcus Harris Kicked to Curb by Patriots
According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the New England Patriots released six players on Monday following the NFL Draft. Among those guys was defensive tackle Marcus Harris, who was originally a seventh-round pick by the Texans in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Harris never played a game for Houston during his tenure, primarily spending his time on the practice squad. After failing to make the roster, he was cut and picked up by the Patriots, though Harris failed to carve out a role.
At 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds with 5.06 40-yard dash speed, Harris is someone who has the athletic traits necessary to succeed at the NFL level, yet multiple organizations have decided that he isn't capable of sticking on a team long-term.
Harris had six tackles for loss for the Auburn Tigers in 2022, following up that impressive campaign with a seven-sack season in 2024. His background once enticed the Texans, so it's worth wondering if they could possibly pursue a reunion.
That said, Houston had him in the building once and didn't feel compelled to bring him back. It's not clear what the issues were, though head coach Demeco Ryans didn't feel inclined to keep him around.
This is someone who succeeded against high-level SEC competition. If he can do that, surely he can handle the lowly AFC South. It's up to Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio, though, and they clearly have other ideas.