HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans open the 2021 NFL regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 12 at NRG Stadium. The Texans finished 2020 with a 4-12 record, third in the AFC South.
By signing 53 new players since the end of last season, general manager Nick Caserio has created a lot of turnover on a roster that only won four games in 2020. Can Houston rebound from their worst season since 2017 and do it without Deshaun Watson, who faces 22 lawsuits alleging sexual assault and inappropriate behavior and is currently being investigated by the FBI for those allegations?
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills, Deshaun Watson
Unless something changes with Watson's legal situation and the NFL puts him on the commissioner's exempt list, the quarterback could start the season on Houston's 53-man roster and be a healthy scratch for games. Taylor should start Week 1, but at what point will Caserio and head coach David Culley need to see whether Mills has a shot to be the Texans' quarterback of the future?
RUNNING BACK (4): David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, Mark Ingram II, Rex Burkhead
This is a veteran-heavy room after Caserio signed Lindsay, Ingram and Burkhead during the offseason. Lindsay will be the Texans' starting running back, while Johnson is expected to slot in on third downs.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Brandin Cooks, Keke Coutee, Nico Collins, Chris Conley, Alex Erickson, Andre Roberts
Cooks and Coutee will be the Texans' only returning receivers after Will Fuller left in free agency and Randall Cobb was traded to the Green Bay Packers during training camp. If Roberts makes the team, it will be for his special-teams duties.
TIGHT END (3): Jordan Akins, Brevin Jordan, Pharaoh Brown
The Texans cut Kahale Warring after the third preseason game, ending his time in Houston with three catches in seven games.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Laremy Tunsil, Max Scharping, Justin Britt, Tytus Howard, Charlie Heck, Justin McCray, Cole Toner, Geron Christian Sr., Jordan Steckler
Marcus Cannon might make the initial 53-man roster and then be put on IR so he can return this season. The Texans could do the same with Lane Taylor if he's not ready for the start of the regular season. Howard, Houston's first-round pick in 2019, will move from right tackle to left guard.
DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Ross Blacklock, Charles Omenihu, Jonathan Greenard, Whitney Mercilus, Jacob Martin, Maliek Collins, Jordan Jenkins, Roy Lopez, Shaq Lawson
Not only will the Texans' defense look a lot different with the shift to Lovie Smith's 4-3 defense, but they'll also make the switch without longtime Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who asked for his release during the offseason. Omenihu impressed in the second preseason game with two sacks and a fumble recovery in just 19 snaps.
LINEBACKER (5): Zach Cunningham, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Christian Kirksey, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Garret Wallow
Cunningham, who signed a contract extension last year, is the only returning inside linebacker on this defense. Lovie Smith runs a linebacker-friendly system and called Kirksey "our quarterback on the defensive side."
CORNERBACK (6): Bradley Roby, Desmond King, Terrance Mitchell, Tremon Smith, Cornell Armstrong, Vernon Hargreaves
Roby will miss the first game of the season as he serves the final game of his suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. John Reid, a fourth-round pick in 2020, was traded before Houston's third preseason game.
SAFETY (5): Justin Reid, Lonnie Johnson, Eric Murray, A.J. Moore, Terrence Brooks
Johnson had a strong preseason and has shown a knack for intercepting passes during training camp. For the first time in Reid's career, he'll be playing with the same two safeties (Johnson and Murray) for a second season in a row.
SPECIALIST (3): Ka'imi Fairbairn, Cameron Johnston, Jon Weeks
There hasn't been competition in camp for the three specialists. Fairbairn, who made 87.1 percent of his field goals last season, returns for his fourth season in Houston.