Tag: Texans roster

Does every position need to be addressed on the Texans’ roster?

The Houston Texans need to upgrade every position on their roster according to Pro Football Focus. How feasible is it to upgrade every position?

The Houston Texans finished 4-13 to conclude the 2021 season, and are still in the middle of a massive rebuild.

According to Anthony Treash from Pro Football Focus, the Texans need to use all of their resources in the 2022 offseason to upgrade every position on the roster.

Let’s not sugarcoat it — this roster is not in good shape. Everyone in Houston, and the organization itself, would likely agree. The Texans generated 1.7 WAR in 2021. Not only is that the lowest of the 32 teams, but it’s lower than half the starting quarterbacks in the NFL alone. Davis Mills exceeded expectations in a couple of games during his rookie campaign, but the third-round pick still performed poorly with a 58.3 PFF grade. Any thought of him being the long-term solution at signal-caller is premature. 

There are a lot of things about Mills’ rookie season that are horrendous in the aggregate. He posted a 2-9 record as a starter. However, much like his 58.3 passer rating, it is the result of his first six starts, wherein he went 0-6 as a starter. Much of Mills’ work that contributed to his poor PFF grade happened within those starts, not over the last five weeks of the season when was reinserted into the lineup and went 2-3.

Is every roster really wide open on the Texans’ roster? Brandin Cooks is under contract through the 2024 season, albeit his contract has some flexibility. With Cooks recording his second straight 1,000-yard receiving season, do the Texans need to find a number one wideout in 2022?

Laremy Tunsil should finally be over his thumb injury by Week 1. Do the Texans really need to upgrade their tackles with Tunsil and Tytus Howard?

Meanwhile the Jacksonville Jaguars, who finished as the worst team in the NFL, just needs to upgrade at quarterback and running back.

Houston is in the middle of a rebuild, but they aren’t as far away as some think.

Can Texans trade LT Laremy Tunsil to the Bengals?

The Cincinnati Bengals could use some offensive line help. Do the Houston Texans have a partner to trade LT Laremy Tunsil?

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are entering an offseason where their roster could experience a significant amount of reconstruction beyond the inevitable departure of Deshaun Watson. And joining the disgruntled quarterback who could be on their way out of Houston is Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Tunsil, who has two years left on his contract, is set to make a tad over $26.0 million in 2022 — which is not the ideal situation for a team in the early stages of a rebuild. And after sustaining a thumb injury that was slated to take a recovery time of four weeks, Tunsil appeared in five games for the Texans amid their 4-13 campaign.

It’s uncertain what the future has in store for Tunsil, but it appears that general manager Nick Caserio will keep his options open when constructing the Texans’ roster for 2022. Could a trade be over the horizon for one of the best offensive linemen in the league today?

“We’re going through the evaluation of our team and where we’re at,” Caserio said during his exclusive interview with Payne & Pendergast on Jan. 18. “We’ll go through our team whenever we do get the head coach in place, we’ll probably have to bring them up to speed, I’ll probably have to bring them up to speed on where we are from a personnel standpoint. So, I would say Laremy would fall under that category just like everybody else.”

Should the Texans move on from Tunsil this offseason, Houston could have a suitable contender in the Cincinnati Bengals for his services.

For the first time since 1988, the Bengals have advanced to the AFC Championship Game, and Cincinnati has a realistic chance to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVI by defeating the Kansa City Chiefs on Sunday.

But to improve their chances of reaching the Super Bowl, the Bengals must find a way to protect Joe Burrow against the Chiefs’ pass-rush — a simple task Cincinnati’s offensive line has failed to accompish throughout the 2021 season.

Burrow led the league in sacks with 51 throughout the 2021 campaign, but the Bengals’ struggles to protect their franchise quarterback were on full display amid their 19-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Burrow, who threw for 348 yards in the win, was sacked nine times at Nissan Stadium against the Titans on Sunday.

For the Bengals to fully maximize Burrow’s potential, one can assume that revamping their offensive line will be the top priority for the organization this offseason. And the Texans could assist the Bengals in obtaining a foundational piece on their offensive line.

The Bengals’ need to upgrade their offensive line is similar to the Texans’ situation in 2019, which led to Houston acquiring Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins for two first-round picks (2020, 2021) and a 2021 second-round selection in exchange.

The Texans may not receive the same haul that ushered in the University of Mississippi prodigy. But a high draft selection from Cincinnati could be enough for Houston to move on from Tunsil.

Texans complete interview for 2022 coaching vacancy with Josh McCown

The Houston Texans have completed an interview with Josh McCown for their coaching vacancy.

The Houston Texans are truly looking at fresh minds to take over the team in 2022.

The Texans announced Thursday evening that they have completed an interview with former quarterback Josh McCown, who spent the 2020 season with Houston.

During the David Culley one-year experiment, McCown was released by the Texans on March 1, 2021, just before the new league year. McCown spent 2021 on the podcast circuit and also fielding interest from quarterback-needy teams like the New York Jets.

The Texans courted with the idea of McCown as coach last offseason, too.

The 42-year-old semiretired pride of Jacksonville High School told reporters on Nov. 13, 2020, when he arrived in Houston that he could see himself becoming a coach someday.

“I believe so,” McCown said. “If you’d asked me that 10 years ago, I would’ve said no way, that’s not what I want to do at this level. My dream coming out of college had I not been able to play in the NFL was to coach high school football here in Texas. I really thought that was going to be my path. But the longer I’ve been in this game and been around these guys, I see real value in being able to be a part of an organization and compete at the highest level. Yeah, absolutely.

“When that day comes, I could definitely see myself doing that and hopefully just be able to get in and serve a team and help them. Help them in the pursuit of getting better daily and obviously chasing a championship. Yeah, one of these days whenever that happens, whenever I finally take the cleats off, I definitely see that in the future.”

Depending on where the Texans go with their other coaching candidates, that day could come sooner than later for McCown. Hiring the SMU and Sam Houston State product straight to coach without any experience as an assistant would be similar to what transpired with Culley, who only had experience as a position coach, never once a coordinator, before Houston gave him their top job.

GM Nick Caserio says Texans are ‘open for business’ to trade No. 3 overall pick

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio told @sportsradio610 the team would be open to listening to trades regarding the No. 3 overall pick.

Nick Caserio has never been afraid to listen.

The Houston Texans’ general manager, who is entering his second year with the team, told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] Tuesday that the organization is open to trading the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

“Absolutely. Always open for business,” Caserio said.

However, Caserio clarified that the Texans wouldn’t be moving the pick just for the sake of making a trade in the draft. There were a number of factors that would have to come into play if they were to move away from No. 3 overall and further into the draft.

“I think we’ve always been a little more open minded, progressively thinking, move up and down,” said Caserio. “It’s not just move to move. And I think trades specific to the draft are always driven by A) player availability, B) where are you moving, what are you moving away from, and then C) what are you getting in return in terms of assets that could potentially fill out the rest of your team?”

The draft’s two dominant edge rushers in Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux and Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson have been linked to the Texans, but the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions may take those players in successive order before Houston is on the clock.

The draft is April 28-30 in Las Vegas. Plenty can happen in four months.

Said Caserio: “We’re rolling up our sleeves right now going through that draft process. I’d say there’s a number of good players that would be available that we think will be available. But, again, we’re open for business on anything. I think that’s the one thing about this organization of what people, I would say, around the league know about me is that we’re not afraid. We’ll always listen and we’ll always consider. And then we’ll take the information in, process it, and ultimately try to make the decision we feel is best for our team.”

The Texans finished 4-13. With a fuller cupboard of draft picks, including four in the top-100, Houston is in a position to complete the rebuild and get back to playing competitively in 2022. A good draft would help the process.

Texans GM Nick Caserio likes the ‘competitive spirit’ of the organization

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio is encouraged by the way the organization has developed a “competitive spirit” over the past year.

Nick Caserio has been the Houston Texans general manager for the past calendar year, and the results don’t seem to be too different from what they were when he took over.

After a 4-12 finish in 2020 wherein Romeo Crennel finished out as the interim coach following Bill O’Brien being fired after an 0-4 start, the Texans responded in the first year of the Caserio era with a 4-13 finish under first-year coach David Culley, who was canned at the end of the season.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Caserio acknowledged to reporters on Jan. 14. “This year, I think we put a really good foundation in place. I’d say with the infrastructure and the team and the players, you all talked to the players on a week-to-week basis.”

The Texans had some favorable things happen on an individual level. Receiver Brandin Cooks recorded his second straight 1,000-yard season with Houston — something he did not do with the Los Angeles Rams, for example, from 2018-19 — and notched his sixth 1,000-yard season among his eight played. As a team, the Texans were the only team with a losing record to finish in the top-10 in takeaways with 25.

2022 appears to be better as the Texans will have more salary cap flexibility and draft picks to help complete the rebuild.

“There’s a lot of work to do in front of us and we’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves,” said Caserio. “But I think the competitive spirit and the mindset and the thought process of the people that are here in the building is overall positive.”

Ultimately Caserio knows that positivity inside NRG Stadium and going about the fundamentals correctly is immaterial if it does not lead to wins.

Said Caserio: “Those things have to transfer over into production on the field. Nobody realizes that more than I do. We’re committed to making whatever changes are necessary and trying to put together the best team possible for the 2022 season, whatever the construct looks like.”

The first step to have a successful 2022 is to find Culley’s replacement. The Texans have conducted interviews with Brian Flores, Joe Lombardi, and Hines Ward.

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What are the Texans’ exit interviews with coach David Culley like?

Houston Texans coach David Culley provided a glimpse as to what an exit interview is like as the 2021 season is over.

Houston Texans coach David Culley spent Monday with the staff conducting exit interviews with the entire roster.

Culley, who completed his first season at the helm for the Texans, joined Texans Radio play-by-play Marc Vandermeer and sideline reporter John Harris to talk about how the exit interviews went.

“The first thing we do is I tell them how proud I am of, or we are, of how they stayed the course this year,” Culley said. “And that’s each and every one of them. And then individually depending on what position they play, we talk about what you need to do to improve, talked about what you did that was good this year, and what do we need to do going forward to get better.”

Culley characterized the discussions as “short and sweet,” and also used them to get feedback from the players on how to get better in the future.

“Usually what I do is I tell them to give me back some feedback, and they’ll give me back some feedback,” Culley said. “And then we just kind of go at each other right there and kind of figure out what we need to do to get better. And I basically do that with the entire team.”

Leading a roster with predominantly more than half of the roster on expiring contracts or one-year deals, it is safe to presume the Texans will have a massive amount of turnover going forward.

For Culley, that is simply “part of being in the NFL.”

Said Culley: “Every team changes and when the season is over there’s going to be guys that are going to be great for you that aren’t going to be back. There’s going to be guys that aren’t under contract that somewhere along the line may end up getting better contract somewhere else. That’s part of the business and you understand that.”

Life in the NFL is also about production, and Culley’s job is under evaluation as the club finished 4-13. General manager Nick Caserio and chairman and CEO Cal McNair will determine whether the results were trending towards a successful rebuild or muddling around in the mire of the league’s bottom-5 teams.

Texans sign 11 players to reserve/future contracts

The Houston Texans signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts to close out the 2021 season.

The Houston Texans have signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts as they finish up with the 2021 season.

The Texans reached agreements with linebacker Josh Watson, defensive end Michael Dwumfour, running back Darius Anderson, receiver Jalen Camp, offensive lineman Jake Eldrenkamp, defensive back T.J. Green, defensive lineman Demone Harris, receiver Damon Hazelton, fullback Paul Quessenberry, linebacker Connor Strachan, and offensive lineman Jordan Steckler.

Dwumfour saw action in the final three games, starting in one, as he collected five tackles, a half-sack, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits.

The Texans also made a move to sign offensive lineman Sam Cooper as a free agent.

Houston released defensive back Cre’von LeBlanc from the practice squad.

Texans legend Johnathan Joseph shares advice on rebuilding for the future

Former Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph has some ideas on how the team can weather the storm of a rebuild.

HOUSTON — When the Houston Texans took on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the Week 14 interconference match was a Homecoming game at NRG Stadium to celebrate several franchise legends. Johnathan Joseph, who played for the Texans for eight consecutive seasons (2011-2019), was one of several legends in attendance and served as Houston’s Homefield Advantage Captain.

The last time Joseph suited up for the Texans, Houston sustained a 51-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs during the Divisional Round of the 2019 playoffs. Nearly 24 months later, the state of the franchise has experienced a complete 180 from Joseph’s final act as a Texan.

And following Houston’s 33-13 loss to the Seahawks, it is going to take some time before the Texans will be able to replicate the similar success Joseph experienced with the team.

“They have to base a foundation and build from there,” Joseph said. “When I was here, we did a lot of winning. It’s because they spent a lot of time building it up and making the right decisions. It’s about putting pieces together and building off it.”

“It’s a funny feeling walking down the hallways with the way things have changed. But it’s a special day for me to be back.”

Joseph was a vital part of the Texans’ success during the 2010s. In 133 games played while recording 118 pass deflections and 32 interceptions, Joseph helped the Texans sustain one of the NFL’s most fierce defensive teams — en route to capturing half a dozen division titles.

In an attempt to bring some hope amidst the Texans’ 2-11 season, Joseph illustrated that a rebuild does not indicate that a team will remain in football purgatory.

The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback recalled his final season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010. The Bengals went 4-12 during the season. And similar to the Texans, their roster underwent a significant overhaul that offseason — which included starting quarterback Carson Palmer forcing his way to the then-Oakland Raiders.

The following year, the Bengals returned to the post-season with a 9-7 record, where they lost 31-10 to the Texans during the Wild Card round — Joseph’s fondest moment in Houston.

In addition to the team’s management putting the right pieces together, the development of the Texans’ younger players is correspondingly influential.

“You have to take it week-by-week and try not to be so critical of yourself,” he said. “If you can, go out and get a mentor. Someone who can slow the game down. The game has not change. But it is about guys being confident in their abilities.”

Former Texans coach Gary Kubiak shares insight into building culture on a football team

Former Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak shared with “The Wheelhouse” on ESPN 97.5 Houston exactly what goes into building culture on a team.

Rebuilding football teams bandy about the word “culture” more than the word “literally” at the nearest mall food court.

The Houston Texans are trying to build that culture, and general manager Nick Caserio gave reporters on Nov. 4 his definitions for what it means.

“I think everybody kind of gets caught up in culture, like what does that exactly mean?” Caserio said. “I think there are a lot of different definitions of how that’s interpreted. Culture’s about habits and about action. It’s about work. That’s what culture’s about.”

Another great source in Houston sports on what the word culture means is Gary Kubiak, who was the coach of the Texans from 2006-13. Kubiak has parallels with current coach David Culley in that he took over a team on hard times as Houston finished 2-14 the year before and it took Kubiak four seasons to finally finish with a winning record.

Kubiak joined “The Wheelhouse” with Jake Asman, Cody Stoots, and Brad Kellner on ESPN 97.5 Houston [KFNC-FM] Tuesday to talk about exactly what culture means relative to a football team.

“You as a coach you know what type of culture you want in your locker room and with your organization and with your team, but the only way you’re going to get that done is if you’re surrounded with great leaders in the locker room,” Kubiak said. “Those are guys that take your message to another level with the football team. You’re talking 55, 60 players deep. So, you’re talking about a lot of people that that message has to resonate with. So, I think it’s very difficult.”

One of the problems the Texans face with their roster is it is replete with players on expiring contracts. There aren’t any long-term figures or strong faces of the franchise on the roster. Furthermore, while Caserio appears to be in it for the long-term, Culley seems more like a placeholder, keeping the seat warm for a better coaching candidate.

“It starts at the top and it’s got to trickle its way down,” said Kubiak. “You got to win some games here that help you keep culture going and make it better. So, that’s all part of the process.”

A win over the 8-2 Tennessee Titans would help Houston’s culture. The 1-8 Texans take on their AFC South rivals Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at Nissan Stadium.

How does the Texans’ self-scout process actually work?

One phrases that gets thrown around in football circles is “self-scout.” What does that actually look like for the Houston Texans?

One phrase that gets bandied about in the NFL is “self-scout,” and it sounds self-explanatory and a cure-all for anything that could ail a team.

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio joined Texans Radio with play-by-play voice Marc Vandermeer and sideline reporter John Harris to talk about what that actually looks like for the organization.

“We actually talk through our personnel here a little earlier this morning with the staff and kind of gone through some players,” Caserio said. “Each game you’re evaluating, you go through your personnel, what happened in the game, here’s some things we need to do better. Maybe it’s a personnel change or a schematic change. We talk about those things. We’re looking at it, I’m looking at it from our perspective, but, again, it’s within the context of the team perspective, what we feel is best for the Houston Texans on a week to week basis.”

According to Caserio, the bye week isn’t exactly a time to take off or observe what has happened to that point in the season. Rather, that process is ongoing throughout the season.

Said Caserio: “What you really want to do during the bye week is say, all right, what are some things, three or four things, two or three things, that each side of the ball we identified that we can find a way to improve those incrementally. And if we improve those incrementally, then maybe it will give ourselves a better chance come Sunday. It’s not necessarily about the opponent; it’s more about what we need to do with our team.”

Coach David Culley told reporters on Nov. 8 that he will look at everything in his bye week evaluations.

“I evaluate what I’m doing,” said Culley. “I evaluate the message that I am giving to them. I know the message I am giving to them is the right message, but am I giving it to them the right way? What can I do to maybe give it to them to the point to where they truly understand what it means? But after nine ball games, they know. They know, and now there is an accountability and responsibility on all of us, us as coaches and them as players, to get this right.”

Houston has plenty to go through as they deal with a 1-8 record. The Texans get back in action with a Nov. 21 showdown with the Tennessee Titans to commence their season series with their AFC South rivals.