With cuts due by 3pm CDT (I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong), I wanted to pontifibate one last time on the 53-man roster. It's not going to be much different than my first take.
As a refresher, here's the composition of the Texans original 53-man roster last year:
- 2 QBs
- 3 RBs
- 1 FB
- 5 WRs
- 3 TEs
- 5 OTs
- 5 Gs (1 C/G)
- 1 C
- 3 Special Teamers (P, K, LS)
- 6 DEs
- 5 DTs
- 6 LBs
- 4 CBs
- 5 Ss
Again, there's substantial reason to believe the roster will be similarly composed. So here goes:
- 2 QBs: Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky
- 3 RBs: Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Arian Foster (over Ryan Moats)
- 1 FB: Vonta Leach
- 5 WRs: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, David Anderson, Jacoby Jones
- 3 TEs: Owen Daniels, James Casey, Anthony Hill
- 4 OTs: Duane Brown, Cliff Washburn, Eric Winston, Rashad Butler
- 5 OGs: Antoine Caldwell, Chester Pitts, Kasey Studdard, Mike Brisiel, Chris White. Last year, there were 5 OTs and 4 OGs.
- 1 C: Chris Myers
- 3 Special Teamers: P - Matt Turk, K - Kris Brown, LS - Clark Harris
- 5 DEs: Antonio Smith, Mario Williams, Connor Barwin, Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading
- 5 DTs: Amobi Okoye, DelJuan Robinson, Frank Okam, Shaun Cody, Jeff Zgonina
- 6 LBs: Zac Diles, Xavier Adibi, DeMeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, Buster Davis, Kevin Bentley
- 5 CBs: Jacques Reeves, Fred Bennett, Brice McCain, Glover Quin, Antwaun Molden
- 4 Ss: Dominique Barber, Eugene Wilson, Nick Ferguson, John Busing
Again, that leaves us with 52 of the 53 spots. I think it's going to come down to:
- Rex Grossman: He'll be tough to cut after last night's performance.
- Glenn Martinez: Was a fiend on special teams all preseason.
- Joel Dreessen: Your basic, but very good, utility TE.
After Anthony Hill's performance last night, I believe Dreessen takes the last spot. While Casey needs some time to mature into the position, Hill is definitely not ready. Dreessen will be the steady hand.
As far as Grossman, I believe there's a chance he still makes the team over Jeff Zgonina. Kubiak hasn't shown any indication he's going to take three QBs, and after last night's game, he seemed pretty non-committal about keeping Rex. Personally, I don't believe Rex makes the team.
I'll be out of town when the cuts are made, but I'll be back this afternoon.