The day people stop using John McClain as a source will be the day the validity of Houston sports reporting doubles. McClain knows a million times more about where in Houston you can get a trough of french fried potaters than he does about football.
Texans Roster Reset [The Athletic] Since he took over as Texans general manager, Nick Caserio has been busier than anybody else in the NFL. He’s already signed more than 30 free agents and traded for four more players, most of whom join the team on cheap, short-term contracts. The goal, it seems, is to add more competition at every position, find some keepers and maintain cap flexibility for 2022, when the worst contracts from the Bill O’Brien era will be off the books and the Texans will have their full set of draft picks. How Deshaun Watson’s future fits into this plan is more complicated than ever, as the quarterback who requested a trade now faces 16 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. While those work their way through the legal system and the NFL conducts its investigation, Caserio will keep retooling with the limited cap space and draft assets available to him. The Texans have not officially announced all of the players they’ve acquired via free agency and trade, but when accounting for those reported additions, too, the team is projected to be over the cap. Plenty more maneuvering is ahead. It’s already been a lot to keep track of — especially amid Watson’s legal issues — so let’s reorient ourselves with the roster. More than a week after free agency began, here’s a position-by-position look at the Texans. Quarterbacks Who’s back: Deshaun Watson Who’s gone: A.J. McCarron, Josh McCown Who’s new: Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Finley What’s next: Before the lawsuits against Watson, the start of the NFL Draft looked like a pivotal moment in the Texans’ standoff with the QB. Either they’d trade him then or prepare for him to hold out of offseason practices and games. Sixteen civil lawsuits now complicate that. Watson is under NFL investigation, and the attorney who is handling the suits against him, Tony Buzbee, said he’d give the Houston Police Department and Harris County District Attorney’s office affidavits and evidence. The NFL has not disciplined players for civil allegations, but a criminal charge could land him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would prevent him from playing in games and practice. If the Texans don’t trade Watson before the draft and he either elects to sit out games or becomes ineligible to play, Taylor would be the starter, and Houston could look to add depth beyond Ryan Finley, who was acquired via trade and has averaged 5.4 yards per attempt in eight career games. If the Texans did trade Watson before the draft — which now is hard to imagine — Taylor could still be the starter, but the roster might also include a first-round rookie QB. Taylor handed off the starting job to first-round rookies while playing for each of his last two teams, the Chargers and Browns. Running backs Who’s back: David Johnson, Buddy Howell, Dontrell Hilliard, Scottie Phillips Who’s gone: Duke Johnson Who’s new: Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay What’s next: Johnson, Ingram and Lindsay make for a crowded backfield of players who are coming off varying degrees of bad years. In a season with a depressed cap, signing three veteran running backs, including one in his 30s (Ingram) and another who will be there by season’s end (Johnson), is a puzzling move — even if they’re all signed to relatively cheap one-year deals. Head coach David Culley has preached the importance of competition in the first year of a new regime, so perhaps that’s the goal here and not all three make it out of camp or through the entire season. But don’t expect Johnson to be the one to go. By restructuring his contract, he doubled his guaranteed money ($4.25M). Cutting him offers minimal cap relief. Among the trio, Lindsay, 26, possesses the most upside. Injuries limited him to 11 games last season, while he split carries with Melvin Gordon, but Lindsay recorded consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2018-19. He ranked 10th out of 26 qualified backs in success rate during that span. HOU - RB Phillip Lindsay 2020 STATS RUSH YDS 502 TDS 1 YPC 4.3 Wide receivers Who’s back: Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb, Keke Coutee, Isaiah Coulter, Steven Mitchell Who’s gone: Will Fuller, Chad Hansen Who’s new: Chris Conley, Donte Moncrief, Chris Moore, Andre Roberts What’s next: After catching 40 passes for 471 yards in 15 games with Jacksonville last season, Conley joins the Texans on a one-year deal. Cobb carries a $10.4 million cap hit in 2021, but the Texans could move on from his burdensome contract after this season as well. And Cobb’s backup, Couteee, is entering the final year of his rookie deal. So though receiving depth doesn’t appear to be an immediate need — at least relative to the Texans’ other issues — Caserio could look to build toward the future at this position and dip into another deep draft class of wide receivers. Tight ends Who’s back: Jordan Akins, Kahale Warring, Pharaoh Brown Who’s gone: Darren Fells Who’s new: Ryan Izzo What’s next: Even at 34 years old, Fells was productive in Houston, catching 11 touchdowns in two healthy seasons. But cutting him and trading a seventh-round pick to New England for Izzo freed some cap space. The Texans could carry four tight ends on their roster, as they did toward the end of last season after Brown emerged from the practice squad and Warring came off IR. But Warring enters his third NFL season having played just 52 offensive snaps for the Texans, and if he keeps failing to produce, his third-round pedigree will stop being a compelling reason to keep him. Offensive linemen Who’s back: OT Laremy Tunsil, OT Tytus Howard, OG Max Scharping, OT Charlie Heck, OG Hjalte Froholdt Who’s gone: C Nick Martin, OG Zach Fulton, OT Roderick Johnson, OT/G Brent Qvale, OG Senio Kelemete Who’s new: OT Marcus Cannon, OL Justin Britt, OG Beau Benzschawel, C Cohl Cabral, OG Justin McCray, OT Jordan Steckler, C Cole Toner What’s next: In addition to replacing Martin at center, which might become Britt’s job, Houston could also be searching for two new starting guards, depending upon how the team feels about Scharping, a 2019 second-round pick. He was in and out of the lineup last season, playing opposite right guard Fulton, who became a cap casualty. None of the Texans’ new linemen come to Houston on expensive, long-term deals, so it’s possible at least one of the starting guards still isn’t on the roster. He might end up being a drafted rookie.
Defensive linemen Who’s back: DL Charles Omenihu, NT Brandon Dunn, DT Ross Blacklock, DT P.J. Hall Who’s gone: DE J.J. Watt, DE Carlos Watkins, DE Andrew Brown Who’s new: DE Shaq Lawson, DT Maliek Collins, DT Vincent Taylor What’s next: A lot of work remains. The Texans finished 29th in pressure rate with Watt receiving double teams at the league’s highest rate. Their defensive line might be deeper with the additions of Lawson and Collins and some improvement from 2020 second-round pick Blacklock, but it’ll lack top-end talent like Watt. Adding more to the defensive line could be a priority for Caserio in the draft. Before the draft, keep an eye on Dunn as a potential cap casualty. He’s set to count for $4.25 million against the cap in the final year of his contract, and cutting him would net $3.75 million in cap savings. Outside linebackers Who’s back: Whitney Mercilus, Jacob Martin, Jon Greenard, Duke Ejiofor Who’s gone: Brennan Scarlett, Kyle Emmanuel Who’s new: Jordan Jenkins, Derek Rivers What’s next: After a terrible first year of a four-year, $54 million extension, Mercilus has reportedly agreed to rework his contract, a move that creates immediate cap space for the Texans and makes Mercilus a free agent after this season. Even if Mercilus is better in 2021, developing Greenard, a 2020 third-round pick, and Martin, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, should be the priority. Jenkins, who signed a two-year deal with Houston, could be a good value signing. He’ll be 27 by Week 1. In the past three seasons with the Jets, he played in 42 games and totaled 17 sacks on 34 QB hits, along with 18 TFLs. Inside linebackers Who’s back: Zach Cunningham, Nate Hall Who’s gone: Benardrick McKinney, Tyrell Adams, Dylan Cole, Peter Kalambayi Who’s new: Christian Kirksey, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Hardy Nickerson, Joe Thomas, Tae Davis, Kamu Grugier-Hill What’s next: A lot has happened here, most notably the Texans trading McKinney to Miami for Lawson. Similar to Houston’s moves at running back, adding competition here seems to be a point of emphasis. Of the group, Kirksey, who’s started 65 games in seven seasons, is the most experienced. The rest have primarily been backups and special teams players. Pierre-Louis saw the most playing time of his career last season, playing 48 percent of Washington’s defensive snaps, and he ranked fourth out of 50 qualified linebackers in Pro Football Focus’ coverage grade — a sign of his potential usefulness in defensive coordinator Love Smith’s zone-heavy scheme. (Kirksey, it’s worth noting, ranked last.) Cornerbacks Who’s back: Bradley Roby, Vernon Hargreaves, John Reid, Keion Crossen, Cornell Armstrong Who’s gone: Gareon Conley, Phillip Gaines Who’s new: Terrance Mitchell, Desmond King, Tremon Smith, Tavierre Thomas What’s next: Roby and Mitchell on the outside with King in the slot is already a better set of corners than the Texans had for much of, if not all of, last season. But the Texans must keep adding. King signed a one-year deal. Mitchell and Roby are under contract for two years, after which point they’ll be on the wrong side of 30. Unless Reid shines in his second NFL season after barely playing as a rookie, this roster won’t have any up-and-comers at the position. And in the short-term, the Texans still lack quality depth at corner, a problem they paid for last year while Conley spent the entire season on IR and Roby missed the final five games due to suspension. Safeties Who’s back: Justin Reid, Lonnie Johnson, Eric Murray, A.J. Moore, Jonathan Owens Who’s gone: Michael Thomas, Geno Stone Who’s new: Terrence Brooks What’s next: In an effort to bolster their terrible run defense, the Texans played Reid in the box more frequently than ever before last season, and the results were underwhelming. Reid’s third NFL season was his worst one yet, as he missed a career-high 14 tackles in a career-low 13 games. The Texans had previously been stingy against deep passes with Reid patrolling deep, but opposing QBs had a 110.2 rating when targeting him in coverage last season, and according to Football Outsiders, the Texans ranked 22nd in efficiency against deep passes. That’s not the season Reid was looking to have before he became eligible for an extension, nor is it the sort of season that’ll make the Texans eager to commit long term to him just yet. Whether Reid moves forward as a foundational piece of the defense under Caserio could depend on how he plays this season. Special teams Who’s back: K Ka’imi Fairbairn Who’s gone: P Bryan Anger, LS Jon Weeks, LS Anthony Kukwa Who’s new: P Cameron Johnston What’s next: The Texans cut Anger and signed Johnston to be his replacement. They’re still looking for a long snapper, though, after cutting Kukwa on Tuesday. Weeks, who held the job for the past 11 seasons, is a free agent.
Yeah, he had some size and pretty reliable hands. He also seemed to have a knack for getting open, but I guess the coaching staff weren't fans.
I miss the offensive "Watkins" the Texans had before Nuk got traded (with full acknowledgement of everything going on currently with D4...)
Remember when he guaranteed a qb pick by texans and out his rep on the line but the texans picked clowney. That's when I stopped listening to him.
The biggest question that has perplexed me for years is what the hell is John McClain the general of? General Mills?
Slow clap on new owner. So basically worst team in the NFL against the run and the pass and at creating pressure/sacks and just lost JJ Watt and no 1st or 2nd round picks.
He is a clown and its cringe when national media outlets use him as their source. I remember the off-season we signed J-Jo and Manning, McClain spent all summer saying there is no way the Texans can afford Nhamdi because it wouldn't work under the cap. Then teams starting getting creative with restructuring contracts and McClain would still double down that there is no way in hell the texans can sign any prominent free agents because of cap space. Sure enough, the Texans re-worked some contracts and signed J-Jo and Manning to some pretty big deals and McClain's only response was falling asleep during a live phone interview because he had just downed 2 fresh pans on lemon squares.
