The Houston Texans added some major names for the upcoming 2024 season during the current offseason. Guys like Danielle Hunter, Stefon Diggs, and Denico Autry were all brought in with the idea of starting. They weren't the only ones, with fellow new acquisitions Joe Mixon and Azeez Al-Shaair also being brought in to fill in holes.
With those men, and so many others coming in, others had to be let go. There's only so much room on the roster and only so much money to be spread around. The Texans let a good chunk of their roster go and while not every name will be one they miss, there are a few guys that we think could've made the Texans better had they stayed.
If not better, they could've added some consistency in key places.
Three biggest free agent losses during the 2024 offseason
Sheldon Rankins (Cincinnati Bengals: 2 years, $24.5M, $8M guaranteed)
We don't think Sheldon Rankins is irreplaceable, but we do think that the Texans' defensive tackle situation isn't great. Autry is likely to start there and will be joined by fellow new signing Foley Fatukasi as a new make-shift set of starters. Autry can still rush the quarterback but is slightly undersized for a tackle. Fatukaski is a journeyman and isn't someone to have high hopes for. Rankings aren't better, but he would've been an improvement to the guys the Texans have behind Fatukasi and Autry.
Blake Cashman - (Minnesota Vikings: 3 years, $22.5M, $15M guaranteed)
While not a direct replacement, the Texans didn't want to pay the money needed to retain Blake Cashman and sign Al-Shaair, so Cashman went off to the Vikings. This is the one signing where the obvious lack of impact will be felt. While the club is hopeful that Al-Shaair, Christian Harris, and Henry To'oto'o can fill in, losing a player of Cashman's caliber isn't going to be easy to overcome.
Devin Singletary - (New York Giants: 3 years, $16.5M, $9.5M guaranteed)
The hope is that Mixon can elevate the running game, but if he can't then it'll make losing Devin Singletary all that much harder. He was one of the better runners last year, and considering the difficulties the offensive line had last season, having a guy like him who could navigate behind them was beyond important.