Houston Texans Pre-Season 2014 - NT Bowl 2.5...Battle For Roster Spots

700
 
The game was cool until the last 2 minutes of the 1st half, just like last time :lol unfortunately, this game kept spiraling and spiraling downward. Mediocre to bad QB play isn't gonna cut it. Liked what I saw from special teams mostly, along with Hal (even with the late blown coverage), Blue & Grimes, and Posey. Special mention to Lambo Merci for waking up big time, just needs that to carry over into the season. And this guy Keo :lol that's the MF'r who really needs to show something
 
Travis Labhart gaining confidence

DENVER -- Admittedly, I can't watch every single drill every Houston Texans' player completes during practices, as I am only one person. But when I've watched Travis Labhart, the undrafted rookie receiver out of Texas A&M, he's caught everything sent his way.

"Coaches hopefully just are beginning to trust me and players alike," Labhart said. "That begins with the quarterbacks as well, because you don’t want to trick the quarterback. Then they’re not going to look your way if they can’t count on you."

Most of Labhart's reps come with backup quarterback Case Keenum and the two have connected on some excellent throws. They are certainly gaining confidence in each other as the preseason progresses.

Labhart's progression as a receiver has been tremendous, given that he was a college walk-on not too long ago and a practice player for the A&M women's basketball team.

He's perfectly aware of just how much he's learned.

"The coaching is just phenomenal," Labhart said. "I’ve learned so much. ... In the NFL, it’s a whole new ballgame. It has opened my eyes to a whole lot of new things. I’m just learning more about the game and I think the coaching has been outstanding. Also, the veteran leadership with Andre Johnson, Mike Thomas and all those guys have been really helpful to me gaining confidence and getting better as a player."

Making the Texans' 53-man roster won't be easy for Labhart. The Texans' receiver room is crowded and he's not the only member of it who has improved in the past several months. With his play, though, he's giving himself a chance.


It's possible there may be 6 WRs kept. We know the automatic ones are Andre, DeAndre, Posey, and Martin. I think it's a given we're keeping Mike Thomas too, and honestly I'd pick him over Martin just cause from seeing him on the Jags, there's no question he'll catch the ball when you throw it. There's no shakiness like when Martin or Jacoby are getting the ball thrown to them. Labhart is fighting it out with Uzoma, Joe Adams, and Alec Lemon (as far as the most notable WRs). I'd like to see what Joe Adams can do in lengthy instances.

Nope. :lol
 
The Houston Texans have announced the next round of cuts and there are quite a few in this round.

The Texans have released nose tackle Ricardo Mathews, linebackers Max Bullough, Chris Young, corner back Marcus Williams and defensive ends Keith Browner and Julius Warmsley.

Ummmm....why is Bullough being cut??
 
W T F indeed

The Houston Texans working quickly to make their cuts and they’ve announced the last few on the offensive end.

The Texans have released wide receivers Uzoma Nwachukwu and Lacoltan Bester. In addition, they’ve let go of guards Alex Kupper and Bronson Irwin, center James Ferentz, tight end Anthony Denham, and offensive tackle Mike Feiler.

I thought Labhart being cut made Uzoma sort of safe. Guess I was wrong.

The Houston Texans working quickly to make their cuts and they’ve announced the last few on the offensive end.

The Texans have released wide receivers Uzoma Nwachukwu and Lacoltan Bester. In addition, they’ve let go of guards Alex Kupper and Bronson Irwin, center James Ferentz, tight end Anthony Denham, and offensive tackle Mike Feiler.

The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain reports:

Nwachukwu spent last season on the practice squad but was brought into camp with the opportunity to win a spot. His effort went fruitless as it seems Bill O’Brien wants to go with DeVier Posey and Mike Thomas as the second and third backups at the WR2 position. Nwachukwu caught five balls for 32 yards in the preseason. It remains to be seen if he will be added back to the practice squad for a second season but we shall see.

Kupper was also a member of last year’s practice squad and had the opportunity to appear in four games and start two this preseason. Irwin was a undrafted rookie free agent out of Oklahoma and had appeared in the three games in the preseason. Both were the odd men out as the Texans look to Brandon Harris, Xavier Su’a-Filo and Ben Jones to fill the remaining guard slots.

LaColtan Bester was signed as a undrafted rookie and his fate was similar to Nwachukwu’s. He didn’t see much action on the field.

Ferentz was acquired as an undrafted rookie out of Iowa, he was used sparingly and with Chris Myers being the man, there was no need to carry him unless he displayed some versatility.

Denham and Feiler were also undrafted rookies and were the odd men out especially with Ryan Griffin, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Derek Newton, Tyson Clabo and Will Yeatman being the presumptive backups at each of their positions.

And there you have it, the roster has been trimmed to 53 players well ahead of the 3 p.m. CDT deadline.

However, expect some additional movement later in the weekend as the Texans look to acquire players off the waiver wire from other teams to address some of their needs.
 
Been in Colombia visiting some family and haven't been able to watch the past three games smh
I've been all out the loop :{

I need to find a way to be able to watch the games asap if not
I'm not gonna be able to catch the next 4-5 games either smh
 
Pretty sure Keenum is still practice squad eligible. I wonder if they even want to keep him lol
 
The Houston Texans have claimed OT Jeff Adams from the Tennessee Titans, according to Mike Garafolo (Fox Sports).

The Texans have also claimed CB Darryl Morris from the San Francisco 49′ers and WR Damaris Johnson , according to Ian Rapoport (NFL.com) and Les Bowen (Philadelphia Daily News).

Since they finished 2-14 last season, the Texans have first waiver priority on any player that was released over the last few days.

Adams, 24, went undrafted out of Columbia a few seasons ago and is listed at 6-7, 305 lbs. He will beef up the Texans OL depth.

Morris, 23, went undrafted out of Texas State last season. He played in 13 games for the 49′ers last season, finishing with 6 tackles. He ran a 4.33 at his pro day and is listed at 5-10, 188 lbs.

The Texans will likely make a few more moves as they get ready for their season opener a week from today.

Expect the Texans to also announce their practice squad players a bit later today.
 
These cuts and signings are so confusing. Supposedly Danieal Manning might be back depending on his physical.

Mike Thomas continues to bounce around as he has been cut once again, this time by the Houston Texans. Since Thomas’ break out season with Jacksonville in 2010 when he caught for 820 yards and four touchdowns, he has been cut by Detroit, Arizona and now Houston.

The report initially came from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter on Sunday.

Mike Thomas, 27, was drafted in the fourth-round by the Jaguars in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was traded to Detroit in 2012 for a fifth-round selection in the 2014 draft.

Johnson, 24, was undrafted from Tulsa in 2012 but quickly signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Johnson had 21 catches in two seasons with the Eagles and returned a punt for a touchdown.

The Eagles wanted to trade Johnson before the roster cutting on Saturday, but according to NBC Sports, they weren’t able to due to lack of interest for Johnson.

Johnson now joins a Texans team that just signed New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallet and is in their first year under former Penn State coach Bill O’Brien. Johnson joins receivers Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins and Keshawn Martin among other wideouts on the team this season.
 
Back
Top Bottom