HOUSTON — The Houston Texans released veteran linebacker Rosevelt Colvin and 20 other players today, the day before NFL teams must set their 53-man rosters.

The Texans signed Colvin in June after he was released by New England. They had hoped he could be a situational pass rusher, but decided he wasn't valuable enough to take up a roster spot.

"The bottom line was to have a player on your team to just play nickel, he would have to be special," coach Gary Kubiak said. "We had to sit there and weigh him against players who could play special teams and do some other things for our team."

Colvin had recovered from a foot injury that kept him out of the last five games and the playoffs last season. However, he struggled since arriving in Houston and wasn't anywhere close to becoming the pass rushing threat opposite Mario Williams the Texans were looking for.

Colvin had 52 1/2 sacks in nine seasons in Chicago and New England.

Houston has one more cut to make and is evaluating running back Chris Brown to see if he is healthy enough to contribute this season. Brown, who was signed this offseason, has been struggling with back problems since the start of training camp.

Also released Friday was veteran safety Glenn Earl, who started 15 games in 2006 but missed all of last season with a fractured foot, and defensive tackle Anthony Maddox, who spent the last two seasons with the team.

Other players released were fullback Jon Abbate, quarterbacks Shane Boyd and Alex Brink, linebackers Kevis Coley and Ben Moffitt, center Greg Eslinger, cornerbacks Jamar Fletcher, Derrick Roberson and Dexter Wynn, receivers Darnell Jenkins, LeRon McCoy and Mark Simmons, tight end Ryan Krause, defensive linemen Gabe Long and Jesse Nading, running back Marcel Shipp and tackle Torrin Tucker.