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Texas fired a defensive end Whitney Mercellus Tuesday in a move that may give the veteran a chance to Connect with a rival team As Houston continues a year that looks set to end with a losing streak.

That look headed into the season and the 1-5 start to the year did nothing to indicate better days awaited the Texans. This makes player development key to the rest of the year, and general manager Nick Caserio said this was the driving factor behind the release of Mercilus.

Caserio referred to players like Jonathan GrinardAnd D Marcus WalkerJacob Walker and Charles Ominihu As those who could benefit from more playtime.

“It gives some of the other guys maybe another chance to go in there and PLAY AND PERFORMANCECaserio said via the team’s website. “We had some guys early in the season, JG, D-Walk, Jacob Martin, some other guys. Charles played a little bit earlier. That provides opportunities for some of the other guys, so the door is now open.”

Greenard hasn’t been active in the first two games of the year, but he’s had four sacks in the past four weeks and the team’s best passing appears to be with Mercilus gone.