The Houston Texans have a lot to give to prospective free agents this offseason.
The team is flush with salary cap space (around $70 million), has a quality franchise quarterback under center in C.J. Stroud and a great coaching staff with DeMeco Ryans at the helm. Houston also has momentum after it won the AFC South title and a first-round playoff win.
The Texans also, oddly enough, still have a lot of holes to fill, which means they’re primed for a big offseason to fix any issues before the 2024 season begins. That’s why Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab named Houston as the fourth-most interesting team during this free agency cycle.
“Houston can (and should) get aggressive to see if it can make another leap this season,” Schwab wrote. “The Texans could throw a lot of resources at the defensive line — that’s what the 49ers do, and there are a lot of San Francisco ties on this team — which would please head coach DeMeco Ryans.”
There are a few different directions the Texans can go down this offseason in free agency. General manager Nick Caserio could go on a spending spree and add quality albeit expensive pieces to the roster. Or, he could remain frugal and find inexpensive options and/or retain key contributors from this past season. The latter is the direction Caserio chose in 2023, and it culminated in the Texans’ best season since 2019.
Caserio already started his offseason process by re-signing tight end Dalton Schultz (who signed a cheaper one-year deal in 2023) and reports indicate Houston could re-sign running back Devin Singletary as well as another inexpensive player rather than break the bank for someone like Saquon Barkley. But the prospect of adding some blue-chip prospects in a good free agency class shouldn’t be discounted as an option for the Texans.
This is why Houston offers an intriguing look into roster construction. The Texans have the money, the quarterback and the coach to go from winning one playoff game to winning all of the playoff games. It just depends on which road Caserio and Ryans think is the best to go down to maximize Stroud’s rookie contract and the youth of this team.
