3 surprising players who the Houston Texans kept on the roster

The Houston Texans have finalized their roster. At least for now. The team will make some changes throughout the season, but things are settled as we move to the first encounter against the Indianapolis Colts. While the Colts are on the horizon, it's understandable that we're not ready to talk about them just yet.

The final cut-down day is, after all, always unpredictable. This year was no different. The Texans made some really strong decisions, like keeping John Metchie III and moving Davis Mills to the team's backup quarterback behind C.J. Stroud.

They also made some, truly, baffling moves. Not every player will add an incredible amount of value to the team, and sometimes guys get overvalued (or undervalued) by certain coaches. Head coach DeMeco Ryans is no different. He's just as prone to making mistakes by favoring the man over the player.

In our opinion, as wrong or right as it may be, we believe there were a few names that didn't need to make the team. Not just that, but they shouldn't have made the team over other guys. Seeing the likes of Desmond King and Max Tooley get the boot was rough, especially when you see how many guys made the team they frankly shouldn't have.

Now, every team has these types of picks. The Texans are no different, so this isn't a slight against the head coach or front office staff, but we wouldn't have made the same moves in their position.

WR Steven Sims

To be honest, I get why Steven Sims made the team. The five-year pro spent the 2023 season with the Houston Texans and there's familiarity there. That said, he didn't make the team due to excelling in his limited time with the Texans last year. Instead, he made the team because he seems to be the go-to guy for returns in 2024. Sims will undoubtedly be the team's punt and kick return guy for the upcoming season.

I'm a pretty big fan of not just giving the respect to the special team players that they deserve but also expanding and emphasizing that area of the game more. What I'm not a fan of is giving a guy a roster spot just because of his return skills. Not unless he's a next-level returner. If we're talking about someone as good as Josh Cribbs or Devin Hester, sure, you give that man a roster spot.

Yet, Sims as a returner isn't anything special. If he was, he wouldn't be on his third team in six years. Sims has a ceiling that won't ever be broken and that's ok. However, we didn't need to lose someone like Desmond King or Max Tooley to a one-note guy. The team had other options who could've been just as mediocre as Sims.

Dameon Pierce

The Houston Texans are carrying five running backs into 2024. Three was what most expected, but that was when many thought the team would carry a true fullback. However, this year doesn't seem to be the case, as all three of the team's fullbacks were released. Many believe that British Brooks and Cade Stover will likely take over the role going forward, which makes total sense.

Brooks got eyes on him this preseason and Stover has tremendous upside. It makes sense that they'd give time to those guys over someone who wasn't setting the world on fire.

What doesn't make a lot of sense is why Dameon Pierce is once again being wheeled out, despite being arguably the worst running back on the team in not just 2023 but so far through 2024. It's wild enough that Dare Ogunbowale made the team again, but Pierce? Pierce just hasn't been good.

He may have had a solid rookie year, but so did Trent Richardson and he didn't get half as many opportunities as Pierce has had. Maybe he will get better in 2024. Perhaps he's got a better grasp on the playbook, maybe he's more confident and more ready to succeed.

Maybe he's riding pine by Week 4. Who knows, but Pierce wasn't one of the three best running backs. Not when J.J. Taylor and Jawhar Jordan had to get cut to make room for him.

Jeff Okudah

It's great to see Ashton Kutcher bringing back his iconic mid-2000s show Punk'd for a new season. After all, there's no other explanation why Jeff Okudah made the team and Desmond King didn't. King played great in 2023 and just as well in the 2024 preseason. He was everything we were hoping for.

In fact, with how badly Kamari Lassiter has struggled so far, the top three corners in the eyes of many people were King, Myles Bryant, and Derek Stingley Jr. Is Okudah better than any of those three names in no one's wildest fantasy? Not in our opinion. Yet, the Texans front office and coaching staff must have thought so, as Okudah will once again prove that he wasn't a bust.

Except that he has been nothing but. No one person has gone as far as he has off of his former draft stock as he has. Three teams have all thought high enough of him to acquire him, yet so far, none of them have liked what they saw. Considering that Okudah didn't even play a single down of preseason football, it boggles the mind that he's on this team. none have liked what they saw so far

Especially when others, who played better (and just played), are not.