The Houston Texans have made a minor roster move following their newly-announced signing of wide receiver Montrell Washington .
Following the Texans' move to bring in Washington, the team has also announced that they're waiving defensive lineman Junior Tafuna .
Tafuna, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive lineman, had a brief tenure with the Texans, having signed a futures contract earlier this offseason that gave the team his rights to bring onto the 90-man roster .
He had been on the roster dating back to January, and had been working with the team throughout OTAs, minicamp, and the start of training camp, but now finds himself as a roster casualty just a few weeks before the official cutdown day arrives at the end of August.
Tafuna, a four-year player out of Utah, has yet to record a stat in an NFL game as an undrafted free agent from the 2025 NFL Draft.
So the Texans cut ties with him, bringing in more competition for their wide receiver group and their special teams unit with their new addition of Washington.
While the Texans still have many more roster cuts to make on their defensive side of the ball, the move surrouning Tufana sends a bit of a message that Houston is feeling confident about their defensive tackle room currently in place.
According to the latest Texans' 90-man roster, they have seven players signed onboard who are listed as defensive tackles.
Guys like Tommy Togiai , Kayden McDonald, and Sheldon Rankins are among those who stick out as virtual locks to make the 53-man roster and are going to hold a significant role on the defensive once the season gets rolling.
Then there's also some intriguing dark horses to make the cut, like Naquan Jones , who the Texans signed on at the end of the 2025 season, and someone like Kyonte Hamilton , who was a day three pick in the draft for Houston back in 2024.
But the Texans now also have to factor in their new addition of Mario Edwards, who's back in the mix after signing a new contract earlier in training camp after being released with a failed physical designation earlier this offseason.
Dec 7, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. (97) commits a face mask penalty against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the second quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Edwards will now have a route to reclaim his role as a depth piece at defensive tackle on the Texans' front seven, and certainly has a good chance of rising above guys like Jones and Hamilton to make the 53-man cut.
So in reality, someone like Tafuna, who might have some intriguing upside to bank on, wasn't quite a necessity to have on the 90-man roster, especially following the move to bring back Edwards.
The Texans have a good amount of talent and depth at the position as is, and will now add some extra competition in their wide receiver room after his release instead.
So Tafuna's out, Washington's in, and the Texans' roster construction moves onward.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as Texans Release DL After Signing WR Montrell Washington .
