The Texans have started trimming their roster before training camp even gets here, and the first moves hit two injured defenders.
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander, Houston waived cornerback Ajani Carter and defensive end Xavier Thomas from the reserve/injured list. Both had been on the injured list since May, and their departures open up two spots on the Texans’ 90-man roster.
That matters because those openings give Houston room to add free agents before camp. The team could also circle back and bring back Carter or Thomas later if it wants them around as practice-squad competition, but for now the signs point toward both moving on.
Carter had been with the Texans since before the 2025 season. He first joined the roster as a UDFA out of Houston and appeared in two games during the 2025 season, working mostly on special teams. He logged 36 special teams snaps in Weeks 11 and 12 against the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills.
Thomas arrived in Houston earlier this year on a futures contract, after spending his previous two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He was originally a fifth-round pick, taken 138th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
In his two pro seasons, Thomas has played 18 career games and has filled roles on defense and special teams. As a rookie in 2024, he handled more than 200 defensive snaps, but that dropped sharply in his second season, when he played only four games and finished with 57 combined snaps on defense and special teams.
Neither player was facing an easy path to the 53-man roster anyway, especially with Houston’s defense expected to be deep and talent-rich. Thomas at least had a case as a depth option at defensive end, given the questions around who backs up Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, but the Texans clearly decided to go in another direction.
Now Houston has two roster spots to work with, and how the team uses them will be worth watching in the weeks leading into camp. The Texans could target veteran help, younger low-cost options, or something in between. For a stretch of the offseason when the calendar usually stays quiet, this was a notable move from a team that’s still more than three weeks away from training camp.
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