Texans coach David Culley said Wednesday morning it wasn’t a tough decision to release inside linebacker Zach Cunningham for disciplinary reasons.
Cunningham, a second-round pick in 2017 who led the NFL in tackles in 2020, missed Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis because he failed to appear for the players’ regular COVID-19 test. It was the second time Cunningham was benched this season for violating team rules.
“It wasn’t tough at all,” Culley said. “I made a decision that’s best for our team. It’s about the team, not any individual. We’ve got standards. We feel like those standards haven’t been met.
“The one thing we always talk about is that it’s not necessarily about trying to be the best player on the team but trying to be the best player for the team.”
Cunningham didn’t start the second game at Cleveland because of a disciplinary issue. Cornerback Desmond King II and safety Justin Reid also sat out games for disciplinary reasons. King and Reid returned to the starting lineup.
“It’s a reflection of guys not doing what we want done,” Culley said. “If they don’t do what we want done, we deal with it.”
This season, Cunningham was in on 67 tackles, including 32 unassisted. He had four tackles for loss. Last season, he made 164 tackles, 106 unassisted.
With Christian Kirksey returning from injured reserve, he and Kamu Grugier-Hill get most of the playing time when the defense is playing nickel coverage. Kevin Pierre-Louis, Neville Hewitt and rookie Garret Wallow also get playing time.
