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While all Texans fans really want to read is that Deshaun Watson has rescinded his trade request, instead we must operate in reality. In a place where other Texans, perhaps not deemed as vital to the future of the franchise or mental health of the fan base, have their futures with the team addressed. Enter Senio Kelemete and Peter Kalambayi, both of whom were released from the Texans yesterday.
The #Texans are releasing versatile veteran OL Senio Kelemete today, per the wire, creating about $1.5M in cap space. The 30-year-old has started 42 games in his career. They also released LB Peter Kalambayi.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 23, 2021
Kelemete was signed as a free agent back in 2018 to amid hope he could shore up Houston’s atrocious offensive line. I suppose you could say Kelemete helped in that regard, but he certainly did not become a fixture or long-term solution. Indeed, the Texans remained concerned enough about their guard play that they went out and selected Max Scharping in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft; Scharping unseated Kelemete as a starter as a rookie before regressing in 2020 to the point that Kelemete was inserted back into the starting lineup for a good portion of the past season. Losing Kelemete hurts Houston’s depth, but he shouldn’t be considered irreplaceable; it’s quite likely a similar, cheaper player can be brought in to compete with Scharping in 2021.
These releases bring $1.085m in net cap savings. https://t.co/dtIrjjWYb1
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) February 23, 2021
Kelemete classily bid goodbye to the franchise via tweet this morning.
— Senio Kelemete (@Kelemete65) February 24, 2021
Houston drafted Kalambayi with the last pick of the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was almost exclusively used on special teams and did not contribute to the linebacker group in any meaningful way. Best of luck to him as he looks to continue his NFL career elsewhere.
It’s not all releases and farewells at NRG Park. The team agreed to terms with running back Buddy Howell on a new one-year contract.
RB Buddy Howell re-signing with the #Texans, getting a one-year deal.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 23, 2021
Texans re-signing running back Buddy Howell to one-year contract with a max value of $1.8 million: $1 million base salary, $200,000 signing bonus, $300,000 in per-game active roster bonuses, plus not likely to be earned incentives. https://t.co/WEIPkjlsiL via @houstonchron
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 24, 2021
Howell figures to compete for a spot on the Texans’ roster as a third or fourth running back and special teams contributor.
None of this is the sexiest news in the world, but it is proof that the Texans are evaluating the entire roster and are capable of doing things that don’t involve frustrating their star player for no reason at all. These days, that’s a win.