Final Cuts: Down To 53

To me, the most surprising cuts are Arian Foster and Brandon Harrison. I know that John Busing has had a good preseason, but I still had a sneaking suspicion that Harrison would win that spot. Also, even though Moats has shown more this training camp, Arian Foster showed more upside, which I thought would win him a spot especially given his similarity to the oft injured Chris Brown. Lastly, I'm a little surprised that Chaun Thompson beat out Buster Davis, although I think tht is of little consequence either way.

What do you think of the final roster, BRB?

Advantage: Dunta Robinson?

Tim — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:57:51 -0000

Expanding a bit on Mike's post earlier today, does the likely absence of Jacques Reeves until early to mid October change anything about Dunta Robinson's situation? How about the general situation at cornerback? Some thoughts:

1. Dunta now has more leverage than he's ever had before. Yes, the Texas still hold the ultimate trump card--the right to continue to franchise him for as long as they want--but the Texans certainly need D-Rob more than they have at any time since their contract negotiations reached an impasse. With no Jacques Reeves and no Dunta Robinson, your Houston Texans currently feature a corner rotation of Fred Bennett, a returning Glover Quin, Brice McCain, A.J. Davis, Mark Parson, David Pittman, and Matterral Richardson. Chances are that you just threw up a little in your mouth reading that list. Say what you will about Dunta, but he was the best CB on the roster before Reeves went down. Now? His absence is that much more glaring.

2. There's no chance that Dunta actually sits the season out. He ain't leaving almost $10,000,000.00 on the table. Knowing that, why doesn't he simply report to camp? At this point, it's not like he's proving anything. The Texans know he's pissed about his contract situation. The fans know he's pissed about his contract situation. And surely his teammates know he's pissed about his contract situation. We're not covering new ground here. So why sit out? Simple: He doesn't want to be sweating his dreads off in camp. Selfish? Yeah. Endearing himself to his teammates? Probably not, but there's likely a fair number of them who wish they weren't out there in this heat. Until Dunta signs, he's under no contractual obligation to be there.

3. Fred Bennett and Brice McCain (or Glover Quin) are getting the first-team reps at CB. Is that making the offense better? Does it make the defense better? Wouldn't having Dunta Robinson out there make everyone better?

4. If the sticking point is truly Dunta's insistence that the Texans promise not to franchise him again next year, shouldn't Rick Smith take a cold, hard look at the status of his negotiations with Owen Daniels and/or DeMeco Ryans? Because if he doesn't think he's going to reach terms on long-term deals with both of them, it seems to me that it would make considerable sense to give Dunta the promise he wants. You're going to franchise OD or DeMeco before you'd franchise Dunta in 2010, aren't you?

5. Jacques Reeves, he of the "Getting My Hands Up And/Or Turning My Head Is Totally Overrated," is likely lost for the first quarter of the season, and I'm actually looking at it as a big negative. I don't even know who I am anymore.

SB Nation - Matterral Richardson

Final Cuts: Down To 53

Advantage: Dunta Robinson?