Three surprise cut candidates who can help the Houston Texans get to the Super Bowl

The Houston Texans have a much better roster now than they did this time a year ago. Then, we weren't really sure what this team was, as there were a lot of unknowns surrounding the fact that there were rookies everywhere you looked, even on the coaching staff.

After making some trades and big signings, the Texans are firmly positioned to contend for the Super Bowl. But, there are still some holes on their roster. Sure, the roster they have now will widely be the one they go into Week 1 with, but there are areas they could add players to.

With training camp getting closer and closer, teams will eventually start to release players, as they have to get their roster from 90 players down to 53 by Week 1. This means some solid players could get cut. We call these guys surprise-cut candidates.

Every team has them. For example, to people on the outside looking in, Robert Woods would seem like a player that people would be surprised about if he got cut, but the move would make sense with the current wide receiver room and the money he would save the Texans. Just because a player gets cut, doesn't mean they can't be good or of value to another team.

So, with that, here are three surprising cut candidates from other teams that the Texans should sign to help them get to the Super Bowl:

Surprise cut candidates Texans should sign

Cleveland Browns DT Siaki Ika

The Houston Texans could use some more depth at the defensive tackle position, even after signing Denico Autry, Foley Fatukasi, and Tim Settle this offseason. After those three guys, their depth is pretty shaky, and I'd even say the Texans could sign a guy that could battle for the fourth DT position, which is currently occupied by Mario Edwards.

So, why not go after a guy who could potentially be cut who was drafted just last year, and a third-round pick at that? A to Z Sports' very own Cleveland Browns beat writer Brandon Little shared some info on the former Baylor Bear.

Cleveland was terrible at stopping the run in 2022 so they went out and refined the interior of the defensive line in 2023. It paid off for them but one guy that was supposed to come in and be an eventual run plugger was Ika, who was just unable to do that. Ika was a healthy scratch for most of the season until Maurice Hurst went down with an injury, then was not very good in limited playing time. Ika played 100 defensive snaps and did not record a single statistic for Cleveland. He was very heavy coming into the NFL and tested poorly athletically at the combine. If Ika is being blown off the ball during training camp like he was last season, Cleveland could move on after a year. - Browns beat writer Brandon Little

Las Vegas Raiders DT Mattew Butler

Butler is another young defensive tackle that the team he is currently on just hasn't been able to develop well yet. As we have seen, this new regime in Houston is great at developing young talent, and that could do the same for Butler, who was a prospect with a pretty decent ceiling coming into the NFL.

Las Vegas Raiders Defensive tackle Matthew Butler is only entering his third season after being drafted by the former regime, and things haven’t been the best for him in his NFL career. With the signing of Christian Wilkins, he is being pushed even further down the depth chart than he already was, and is currently looking at being the sixth DT. I think cutting him only makes sense. Raiders beat writer Justin Churchil l

Philadelphia Eagles CB James Bradberry

The Texans did just sign C.J. Henderson and Jeff Okudah this offseason to help with the depth at the position, but, we are not really sure what they will be in this system. Why not go after a guy who made a ton of huge plays in 2022, and was considered one of the best cornerbacks in the league?

That is, if he is cut.

The Eagles didn’t hesitate to draft back-to-back corners in the 2024 NFL Draft in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean . Now they have 15 of them heading into July training camp. That’s an obvious sign that the Eagles have little to no faith in Bradberry, who struggled last year. If he doesn’t have an eye-popping training camp and beat out these rookies, then don’t be surprised if the Eagles might let him go, even if it means eating some money. - Eagles beat writer Kelsey Kramer

Now, some of these players could end up not even getting cut. However, if they do get cut, they are perfect for the Texans to target heading into 2024.

Related: Houston Texans sign cornerback C.J. Henderson to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million