Houston Texans Roster: Texans Sign Bryant Johnson, Release Eight, Place Four On IR & Trim Down To 80.

A flurry of Houston Texans roster news to report as we near the end of the night. All NFL teams must trim the roster to 80 before tomorrow afternoon. When the dust settled on Monday night, Houston waived eight, placed four on injured reserve, and signed two veterans to reach this week's magic number.

The four that were placed on injured reserve were guards Shelley Smith and Kasey Studdard and wide receivers Lestar Jean and Devard Darling. Studdard's been rumored to IR for a week, so there's no surprise there. Smith got banged up against the New Orleans Saints and subsequent practices. Jean sparkled all of training camp but will miss his rookie season due to a shoulder injury.

To fill the void at guard and receiver, the Texans signed Bryant Johnson, a former first round pick by the Arizona Cardinals and recent member of the Detroit Lions, and guard Andrew Gardner, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The other eight players who were waived were linebacker Matt Marcorelle, guard Darius Morris, receiver Paul Williams, safety Antonio Baker, safety Maurice Rolle, cornerback Jason Teague, cornerback Antwaun Molden, and punter Brett Hartmann.

Hartmann's departure means that former Chicago Bears punter Brad Maynard has won the punting job. Maynard will also do the holding for any fields goals and extra points.

As for Molden, he was touted as having a ton of potential but just could never stay healthy and put it together. It's another sign that Wade Phillips is serious that he wants players and not potential.

Next week, the Texans must trim down to 53 while also filling out their eight-man practice squad. Check out Battle Red Blog for more roster speculation and news.