The Houston Texans continue to shape their roster heading into the 2019 season and general manager Brian Gaine continued that trend by signing running back Taiwan Jones (Read More Here). Gaine continues to trust his thought process and coaches when it comes to players and Jones is precisely that. Jones spent time with special teams coordinator Brad Seely in Oakland and with Gaine in Buffalo during the 2017 season. There is a sense of trust bringing in Jones to the roster knowing what he brings to the field and most importantly to the locker room.
How does Jones impact the Texans roster heading into OTAs? We take a look.
Gaine has helped reshape the special teams unit by treating it as phase a football that needs starting caliber special teams players. Gaine added Johnson Bademosi, Joe Webb III, Buddy Howell Jr., A.J Moore, and Peter Kalambayi to the roster and it paid off on the field. The addition of Jones gives the Texans an option in the running back group to help on special teams and being a captain in Buffalo should not go unnoticed. Jones previous connections to Seely and Gaine should not go unnoticed. There is a good chance he will be on the week one roster with his primary focus as a key special teams player.
Outside of Lamar Miller, there are big questions concerning the position group heading into 2019. D’Onta Foremanhas to bounce back from his injury, and all signs have shown the organization believes he can contribute in 2019. The Texans like keeping four running back on the 53-man roster at all times which leaves at least one roster spot for competition heading to the regular season. Jones does not do much to move the needle offensively for the Texans, and he is a fourth running back on the depth chart and emergency running back if needed. Jones should slide into the role Howell held last season as the running back that only played special teams. That should create the opportunity for new faces at the position to emerge at the position in 2019.
The Texans like four running back on the 53-man roster. If everything holds from a health standpoint, there will be one spot open on the roster. Players like Josh Ferguson, Buddy Howell Jr.and rookies Karan Higdon Jr. and Damarea Crockett would be set to compete on the field. Like all training camps, there are intriguing camp battles, and it is lining up that the running back group could have one of those storylines for the summer. With positive reviews of Ferguson and Howell from Bill O’Brien, they will get the first crack and making an impression for the Texans. Crockett took part in rookie mini-camp while Higdon is being worked back slowly after undergoing knee surgery before the NFL Draft. There will be plenty of discussions which should be that back on the depth chart, but it will come down to the best player during training camp and the preseason.