The Houston Texans have made another change to their roster following the addition of Super Bowl champion wide receiver and return man Montrell Washington, with Junior Tafuna suffering the ramifications.
Tafuna is a second-year former undrafted free agent.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive lineman’s departure follows a couple of other moves along the Texans’ defensive line. That includes one at his tackle spot.
Texans Part Ways With Junior Tafuna in Roster Shake-Up
GettyDeMeco Ryans and the Texans have parted ways with DT Junior Tafuna
“The Houston Texans have waived the following player,” the team announced via its official website, noting Tafuna as the departing player.
A four-year contributor at Utah, Tafuna joined Houston as a college free agent in 2025.
He did not see the field as a rookie, as the Texans boasted a top-five run defense. This offseason, they added several players to their defensive tackle group. One of whom is a former starter for the team. That left Tafuna’s outlook with the Texans murky at best.
In 2025, the Texans had nine interior defensive linemen log snaps, per Pro Football Reference, and Tafuna was not among them.
Houston ranked fourth against the run, and they tied for the sixth-most sacks.
Again, that was without Tafuna as part of a deep rotation that also battled injury woes with a pair of former starters, Tim Settle Jr. and Mario Edwards Jr. He faced an even greater challenge for not just snaps, but also a roster spot this summer.
As of August 5, the Texans list seven players at defensive tackle, and that does not even tell the whole story of how their rotation might unfold this coming season.
Texans Bolstered Defensive Line Room
GettyKayden McDonald is already making a strong impression on the Houston Texans.
Tafuna was a UDFA when he joined the Texans, who have been a bastion for other teams’ castoffs under head coach DeMeco Ryans. But the Texans tweaked their approach to building out the group this offseason.
They traded with the Las Vegas Raiders, moving up to select former Ohio State Buckeyes star Kayden McDonald with the 36th overall pick of the 2026 draft.
He looked like the plug-and-play contributor he was billed as so far during the spring.
That has continued into the summer. The Texans also added veteran Logan Hall in free agency from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hall is listed at defensive end, but the Texans plan to have him take snaps on the interior as well.
Moreover, Edwards returned in free agency recently, as did EDGE Jadeveon Clowney, who can slide inside on obvious pass-rushing downs.
The writing was on the wall for Tafuna with the Texans.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Texans Cut Ties With 6-Foot-3, 305-Pound Defensive Tackle in Roster Shuffle appeared first on HEAVY.