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.
1. RB David Johnson
The trade of DeAndre Hopkins looked awful at the time O’Brien pulled the trigger, and it looks even worse now. David Johnson, a running back nearing the end of his shelf life off of a multitude of injuries looked like, well, a running back nearing the end of his shelf life off of a multitude of injuries this season for Houston.
In 12 games for the Texans, Johnson rushed for less than 700 yards, finding the endzone six times in Houston. He caught an additional 33 passes out of the backfield for another 314 yards and two touchdowns. On paper, this may look like a good year for the former Arizona Cardinal, however on tape and on the field, Johnson is instilling fear into no defense.
With one year left on his contract, and on the verge of turning 30 years old, Johnson becomes the most apparent potential cap casualty on the roster for the Texans. Set to make nearly $8 million this upcoming season, Houston can trade Johnson with no cap penalty, and $9 million in cap savings. However, a trade for an aging and expensive running back is not likely, leaving the ax as the probably option.
To cut Johnson, the Texans would clear nearly $7 million in cap space, eating only a tad over $2 million in dead money. Teams Caserio have worked under have never been a fan of anything other than running back by committee anyway.
2. OG Zach Fulton
The interior of the offensive line in Houston looks to be a massive problem, and the struggles of second year player Max Scharping did not help their cause. However, Scharping is at least young and will have time to gain experience at the position. The same cannot be said for the guard on the opposite side of him.
Zach Fulton, now on the heels of turning 30, also struggled in 2019 for Houston, making him an easy target to cut as they look to get younger and cheaper. The Texans can see an improvement to their cap situation of $3 million if they move on from Fulton, taking on just $750,000 in dead cap in 2022 to do so.
It seems likely Houston will address the interior of their offensive line with that third round pick, their first in the 2021 NFL Draft. They could even potentially do so earlier should they receive a haul for Watson as his future in Houston looks anything but promising as the days pass by. This haul could include up to three first round picks, and potentially more.
These assets could be used to replace Fulton with the likes of Ohio State’s Wyatt Davis or USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker.
3. TE Darren Fells
Over the past few years with both the Cleveland Browns and with the Texans, Fells has been one of the most efficient tight ends in the NFL, making the most of his extremely limited opportunities in the passing game. This past season, on just 21 catches, Fells managed to rack up over 300 yards receiving and four touchdowns, scoring 14 times over the last three seasons.
However, getting younger will be key for the Texans this offseason, and tight end Darren Fells is not doing that. Now on the verge of 35 years old, and with Jordan Akins taking on a bigger role for the Texans in 2020, Fells may be looking for a new place to play football next season.
His price tag, however, is not expensive, so it will not be crippling for the Texans to keep a veteran presence on the roster by any means. However, should the Texans scrap for every last bottom dollar this offseason to climb out of the red, then Fells’ contract looks to be an easy one to part with.
Entering the last year of his deal, Fells is only set to make $1.5 million from the Texans, however, Caserio and his team could see an additional $2.3 million in cap savings from cutting Fells, eating just $500,000 in dead money to do so.
5. RB Duke Johnson
Could both running backs from the year before be cut by the Texans? It is certainly possible. Should both David and Duke Johnson see the axe of Caserio this offseason in order to clear more cap space, this would open the door for a rookie to land with the team in the 2021 NFL Draft, or a cheap veteran to walk in the door.
Dontrelle Hilliard has filled the Duke Johnson role once before for the Cleveland Browns when they were teammates, and they can likely do it again as he would be the front-runner to take over third down back responsibilities. Besides, three yards per carry and 28 catches out of the backfield is a pretty underwhelming statline for a pass catching specialist such as Johnson.
Set to make over $4.5 million this season, the Texans could receive a cap relief of $5.1 million if they were to part with Johnson, with no dead money attached to them at all. With the limited role and success that Johnsons saw in 2020, this move looks like a no brainer for the Texans to make, replacing a relatively big running back salary of an unproductive back.
The caveat could be in play if the new head coach values the unique skillset of Johnson. However, with his injury history and struggles to hold onto the football, there is no guaranteeing what Johnson can bring to a team on the field.