Texans Enter Crucial Offseason With Third-Most Salary Cap Space in NFL

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans will have quite a bit of salary cap space to play with this offseason.

Coming off of a shocking AFC South title and eventual Wild Card Round playoff victory, general manager Nick Caserio, coach DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans will have an abundance of cap space to work with as they try to take a postseason participant and turn it into a legitimate Super Bowl contender. 

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Per Pro Football Focus, via Over The Cap, the Texans will have $69,959,976 in cap space this offseason. That's the third-most in the league by PFF's calculations, trailing only the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans. 

In terms of effective cap space -- which Over the Cap defines as "the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster" -- the Texans are slated to have 59,382,313, which is again the third-highest in the NFL.

While there will be enough cap space to be active on the free-agent market this offseason, the Texans will have to consider a slew of internal players set to hit the open market as well. 

Defensive End Jonathan Greenard and linebacker Blake Cashman highlight the Texans impending free agents, a group that also includes tight end Dalton Schultz, cornerback Steven Nelson, running back Devin Singletary, and kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn. Even if the Texans don't elect to re-sign all six of those key free agents, a portion of their budget will certainly have to be dedicated to rewarding pieces from the 2023 team. 

Likely Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud won't be eligible for a new contract until after the 2025 season, but Houston probably should also earmark some money for his favorite target, receiver Nico Collins. In his first year in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's system, Collins exploded for 80 catches, 1,297 yards, and eight touchdowns in 15 games. 

2024 will be the final year of the former third-round pick's rookie contract, so perhaps a long-term deal could be reached this offseason. Either way, one would think keeping Collins in Deep Steel Blue over the long haul will be a priority for the Texans. 

What Are Texans Top Free Agency Concerns This Offseason?

All of this is to say, the Texans can afford to be active in free agency this offseason, but a splurge of major external additions may not be in the cards. 

Fortunately for the Texans, while they traded their first-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in the Will Anderson Jr. trade, they do still have a first-round pick from the Cleveland Browns, No. 23 overall, via the trade of quarterback Deshaun Watson. That should allow them to continue drafting and developing cheap talent to supplement some veterans who may get more expensive in the coming years.