The Houston Texans have officially trimmed down their 90-man roster entering training camp to a select 53 names for Week 1 of the regular season that now stands less than two weeks away.
And while the Texans did end up making several expected moves to determine who would be in and who would be out of the picture for the roster, the front office also wound up cutting ties on a few less expected players.
The good news is, the Texans still have rights to virtually all of those surprising cuts via practice squad signings. However, that can't be said for each of Houston's biggest eye-catching moves. And if any team around the league were interested in poaching those practice squad players for their 53-man roster, they have more than enough ability to do so.
Lets' take a look at four of the Texans' most surprising roster cuts from this weekend's events:
Aug 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Jawhar Jordan (25) practices catching before the Houston Texans played the Las Vegas Raiders at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Jordan felt pretty secure as the Texans' RB3 once getting into the motions of training camp following a productive end to last season. However, that spot would be disrupted rather quickly as the third-year running back would suffer a minor hip injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks ahead of roster cuts.
He is finally back to full health and practicing with the Texans. Yet, that missed time early on might've costed him a Week 1 roster spot, to where he'll now have to grind for a practice squad elevation once again this season, just as he did at the end of his 2025 campaign .
Jun 9, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Lewis Bond participates in a drill during the team's minicamp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Alongside the Texans' decision to cut their running back room rather thin to just three players, they did the same to their receiver group as well, with just five players making the 53-man cut. And despite what would be a productive training camp and preseason by most accounts, sixth-round rookie Lewis Bond didn't make it on as one of those lucky five.
Bond's start to the season with Houston isn't anything to panic over. He's still signed to the practice squad and feels like the next man to be called up in the event any more injuries take place at the position. At the same time, his start to the offseason program would've had you believing a 53-man spot was much more likely than it ended up being.
Jan 18, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; Houston Texans defensive tackle Naquan Jones (91) reacts after a defensive stop in the third quarter against the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The only name on this list that didn't get re-signed to the Texans practice squad: defensive tackle Naquan Jones was an intriguing developmental option on their defensive interior who was able to make some highlight plays in preseason, but fell just short of being deemed a depth option in Houston.
Part of that snub for Jones might be partly due to the depth Houston has on their interior already. Sheldon Rankins , Tommy Togiai , Kayden McDonald, Logan Hall , and Mario Edwards Jr. give this group a strong and versatile five-man unit to plug into between their elite edge attack, albeit while leaving Jones on the outside looking in.
Aug 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Jamal Hill (56) in action during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
As the Texans' competition in the linebacker room heated up, it became increasingly clear that Jamal Hill was the one falling behind in terms of his impact and production when compared to other risers like rookies Wade Woodaz and Aiden Fisher. Therefore, he was shifted from Houston's training camp roster to their practice squad.
All hope isn't lost with Hill's potential in Houston. He still possesses nice coverage traits as a former defensive back-turned-linebacker, and will remain onboard this season as a depth piece to be elevated in case of injury. But it's clear that Hill is now certainly lost his footing in the LB3 battle that had been ongoing throughout the offseason.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as These 4 Texans Were the Biggest Snubs From 53-Man Roster .
