The Houston Texans are a salary cap-strapped football team with a dearth of draft picks in April.
Try to rebuild with that bare cupboard, Nick Caserio.
The Texans are willing to do anything to recover from their disastrous 4-12 season a year ago, including cutting defensive end J.J. Watt, who was set to cost $17.5 million against the team’s salary cap in 2021.
Another move the Texans could explore is trading cornerback Bradley Roby. The former 2014 Denver Broncos first-round pick is set to make $10.25 million in 2021. If Houston could find a trade partner, they could save $8.25 million on the salary cap, although it would come with the price of paying $2 million in dead money.
One trade partner the Texans could work with is the Cincinnati Bengals, according to a scenario proposed by Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus.
Cincinnati could be in dire need of cornerback help if William Jackson III leaves in free agency, so Roby could fill in opposite Trae Waynes, who missed the 2020 season to injury but should be back in 2021. The Bengals have the resources to pull this off, but they aren’t generally one of the more aggressive teams with trades or free agency.
However, this could be a great opportunity for a discounted trade given Roby’s situation in Houston, and perhaps a fifth-round pick wouldn’t be necessary to get this deal done, with Houston taking a sixth-rounder just to get anything back.
The Texans would save money, and the Bengals would take on the last two years of Roby’s contract at $19.75 million with no guaranteed money. In Spielberger’s scenario, the Texans would receive a 2021 fifth-round pick in compensation, which may not be enough to pick a quality player, but could be enough to package with other picks to move up and take a player the Texans really need.
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