Texans Waive OL Sidy Sow, Open Roster Spot: What It Means

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The Houston Texans have waived one of their veteran offensive lineman heading into the second week of their offseason OTAs.
According to Jonathan M. Alexander of The Houston Chronicle, the Texans are waiving offensive guard Sidy Sow.
The #Texans waiver G Sidy Sow. He started one game for the Texans last season.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) June 1, 2026
The move now effectively frees up a spot on their 90-man roster as OTAs continue, and opens the door for Houston to add a new free agent from the open market. As to how that roster spot will be utilized remains to be seen.
Sow is heading into his fourth year pro after having spent the 2025 season with the Texans as a depth piece on their interior. He wound up playing in two total games, and starting in one––that being in Week 10 in their comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Before being with the Texans, Sow had spent his previous two years in the league rostered on the New England Patriots, even starting in a total of 13 games during the 2023 campaign.
Now, he heads to waivers with the chance to find a new NFL home as offseason training begins to ramp up in the coming weeks. Considering his release comes early in the summer as opposed to closer to the regular season and training camps, it tends to boost his chances of finding a soft landing.
Why Did Houston Decide to Cut Sidy Sow?

The move to cut the fourth-year lineman likely comes as a result of the Texans' extensive work made on the interior of their offensive line throughout the offseason.
It would be earlier in free agency when the Texans had decided to sign two key veterans into the mix, Wyatt Teller and Evan Brown, who are slated to compete on the interior, while also spending a first-round pick on Keylan Rutledge and a fourth-round pick on Febechi Nwaiwu during April's NFL draft.
Combining those four additions with the rostered players already in place, such as Jake Andrews and Ed Ingram, there was little space left for Sow to really compete for a depth spot in the weeks ahead of next season, let alone a place on the starting five-man front.
That likely led to Houston cutting ties with him to re-allocate that roster spot elsewhere where they may need it a bit more.
How Could the Texans Use Their Free Roster Spot?

The Texans now sit at a total of 89 players on their active roster. That means they'll be likely to fill Sow's void with a new piece via free agency, or a trade if general manager Nick Caserio really wanted to shake this roster up.
One area of the Texans' roster that could use another piece is their depth off the edge. Of course, the top of their depth chart at the position with Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter is already elite, but the depth behind them does tend to look a little depleted at the moment.
Houston did pick up Ali Gaye from free agency earlier last month that does offer Houston another candidate to fill in behind Anderson and Hunter for 2026, but having a truly defined EDGE3 on the depth chart with a proven and tenured veteran could pay major dividends.
If not an edge, maybe another running back or linebacker could make sense to sharpen the competition at either position group on their depth chart.
However, considering the move shows that Houston might be content with their offensive line depth competing for a 53-man nod at the moment, don't expect the Texans to use that roster spot on another contributor upfront.

Jared Koch is the Publisher of Houston Texans On SI. He has covered the NFL & NBA with On SI since 2023, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.
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