Houston Texans: 4 players who could be cut after the draft
By Peter Manfre
Christian Kirksey, Linebacker
Christian Kirksey has had a solid career. He was a valuable, above-average linebacker, but that was back in 2017. He's been average since then. The Texans have mainly received the latter services from Kirksey. Per Pro Football Focus, Kirksey graded out no higher than 56.1 overall and specifically a tackling grade of 62. The numbers match the tape, and Kirksey should not see the field much in 2023.
Per SpoTrac, Kirksey has a cap hit of $6.25M, the seventh-highest cap hit on the team. I don't know where they might reinvest that money, but there's no reason to hold onto an aged veteran who has underperformed for that amount. It wouldn't be the worst thing if the Texans choose to reinvest that money into a longer contract for Tytus Howard, though.