Houston Texans offseason: Potential cap casualties

The Houston Texans are sitting pretty in terms of cap space, but that doesn’t mean some players won’t be casualties due to their current price tag

A the NFL offseason is kicking into gear, the Houston Texans will have some decisions to make as they prepare to defend their AFC South title in 2016. One reality for teams during the offseason is that there is always a business decision to be made where a player is let go simply because their pay has surpassed their play.

Such cap casualties are often hard to swallow, as it seems like far too often the player still has something in the tank, but the team simply can’t justify keeping them any longer at their salary. Luckily for the Texans, there shouldn’t be too many players on this bubble for the 2016 season.

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For all the heat he takes (and deservedly so if you look at some of his draft picks), general manager Rick Smith has done a good job of keeping the team’s salary cap manageable. As they enter this season there is an estimated $32 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap.com.

Such a number can be good and bad for high priced veterans. The number can be good because Houston can simply decide to keep a player who may be making too much money since they aren’t in danger of going over the cap currently. It could also be bad, because the dead money won’t hurt them the same way it could a team that is sitting on the borderline of the cap.

With all that in mind, let’s look at who may be in danger of losing their job thanks to their hit on the salary cap.

Next: Veteran corner with a high price tag