Texans Deactivate CB Bradley Roby

Texans interim HC Romeo Crennel is making a statement. As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports, cornerback Bradley Roby did not travel to Jacksonville for this week’s game against the Jaguars and was told to remain home for disciplinary reasons.

It’s unclear what those reasons are, but whatever Roby did to displease the team, he may have done it in the past 48 hours or so. On Friday, Crennel told reporters that Roby — who left the team’s Week 7 loss to the Packers with a knee injury — was expected to play.

Roby joined the Texans on a one-year, $10MM deal in 2019, and he re-signed on a three-year, $36MM contract just before free agency opened this past offseason. He is the club’s top corner and has recorded Houston’s only interception this season.

Although it’s far too early to speculate on how this might impact Roby’s future with the team, it’s worth noting that his deal features $19MM in guarantees, most of which have not yet been paid out. Depending on the language in Roby’s deal, the Texans could theoretically void the remaining guarantees.

As of now, there’s no indication that Houston will go that route. Although the club is just 1-6 this year and looks to be embarking on a rebuild, solid, reasonably-priced corners are difficult to find.

Pro Football Focus doesn’t think much of Roby’s support in run defense this year, but PFF does give him high marks for his coverage abilities. Overall, the advanced metrics paint him as the 25th-best corner in the game out of 117 qualified players.