Texans: 5 players who could become victims of the salary cap

A new day is coming for the Houston Texans, but that day has not arrived yet. Additionally, the fans in Houston may have to wait even another year or two to see this roster turned over and for this team to become competitive once again. With no money to spend, and no valuable assets to utilize, general manager Nick Caserio is going to have to get creative.

The new league year does not start until March, so moves cannot be made until then, but look for the Texans to be one of the more active teams in offloading players for cap space and draft assets considering the bind the old regime has left them in. Needless to say, the Texans have a lot of work to do, starting with clearing cap space.

Looking at the cap space for Texans

The Texans enter the 2021 season in a bind, picking up the pieces left by former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien. While the culture may not completely shift until the dismissal of Executive Vice President Jack Easterby, the Texans are finally churning in the right direction.

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Looking at their draft assets, however, the Texans are without a first and second round pick, and have their backs against the salary cap wall as well. Entering the 2021 season, the Texans will look to clear over $18 million in cap space just to get out of the red according to Over the Cap. In order to spend money in free agency or to find wiggle room this offseason, even more cuts will have to be made.

Planning for the inevitable trade of superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson as well, that will eat up an additional $5.6 million of cap space this year, and then another $21.6 million in dead cap for the Texans to figure out in the future. Needless to say, pieces are going to have to move in order for the Texans to fill a full 53 man roster.

Who could become salary cap casualties? We take a look here.