Tag: Texans roster

How long will it take to rebuild the Houston Texans?

The Houston Texans are at the beginning of a rebuild. How long will it take for them to get back to being one of the dominant teams in the AFC?

Football comes at you fast.

At the end of the 2019 season, the Houston Texans were recovering from a blown opportunity in Kansas City as they had the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs on the mat at Arrowhead Stadium, a venue where Houston prevailed 31-24 in Week 6 of the regular season. Perhaps the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl, and similarly coming from behind in their next two games, took the sting out of Houston blowing a 24-0 lead, but it seemed the Texans missed an opportunity.

Over a year later, the Texans traded All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins, released defensive end J.J. Watt, fired coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, and quarterback Deshaun Watson wants out. Even if the three-time Pro Bowler continued to embrace the franchise, his mounting sexual assault lawsuits could eventually affect his on-field availability through a possible suspension, if the NFL decides to go that route.

With the Texans in disarray, the question becomes: how long will it take Houston to pull of the rebuild?

Consider it took the Texans eight seasons just to finish a year with a winning record, and that was barely over the hump at 9-7 in 2009. Then, they finally won their first playoff game in 2011, their 10th season in existence.

The franchise is in a state of disrepair not seen since its formation. Even in the 2006 offseason, when they finished 2-14 and fired Dom Capers, there was some optimism because the club held the No. 1 overall pick. The same can be said for the 2014 offseason, another 2-14 finish with the No. 1 overall pick in hand. Even the 2018 offseason had great silver linings because of the hope of Watson returning from an ACL tear, which was the final piece that sealed Houston’s 4-12 fate for his rookie year.

The Texans don’t have a first-round or second-round pick in this year’s draft. Their one shot to get such draft capital was Watson, and teams understandably may want to see how the NFL handles his situation. However, that will be more likely be after the draft, thus diminishing the returns Houston could have procured in a rebuild.

In some ways, the Texans are just trying to field a team in 2021 and get upfield to a more optimistic offseason. The rebuild doesn’t exactly begin until 2022 when they are able to utilize their presumably high-value draft picks to address key needs such as quarterback and pass rusher.

Houston has a key builder in Nick Caserio, who knows how to gather the building blocks of a winning organization as evidenced by his work as the New England Patriots’ director of player personnel from 2008-20. Chairman and CEO Cal McNair needs let Caserio take care of the football side of the operation and focus on generating interest with season ticket holders and sponsors. 2020 was a PR disaster for the Texans, and that would be the best place where McNair could help out, not fielding football questions in the media.

The NFL is an 8-8 — well, now, 9-8 or 8-9 league. The Texans won’t string together four-or-fewer win seasons forever, and the expanded playoff field should reward them when they get close. The rebuild may not be as long as the initial build from the expansion origins, but it will feel that way to Texans fans.

Texans waive G Beau Benzschawel, WR Steven Mitchell

The Houston Texans have waived guard Beau Benzschawel and receiver Steven Mitchell.

The Houston Texans have waived two players as they continue to trim their roster with the NFL draft approaching at the end of April.

The Texans announced Monday they have waived guard Beau Benzschawel and receiver Steven Mitchell.

Benzschawel was active for one game in the 2020 season for the Texans. In the Week 17 finale at NRG Stadium against the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 3, Benzschawel played a total of seven special teams snaps as the Texans lost 41-38 to the Titans.

Mitchell saw more playing time throughout his tenure with Houston from 2018-20 with last year being his most productive season to date. In 2020, Mitchell caught five passes for 60 yards through six games, one of which he started. He played 84 offensive snaps and 18 special teams snaps.

Former coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, who was fired on Oct. 5, 2020, liked Mitchell.

“Stevie’s got a great opportunity to come out, to be on the field and to make plays,” O’Brien told reporters on Aug. 18, 2020. “He’s really doing a good job of taking advantage of those opportunities with some big catches. Again, starting to build the trust between the wide receiver and the quarterback. So far in camp Stevie is doing a good job of capitalizing on those opportunities.”

Mitchell was due $1,525,000 in 2021, and Benzschawel was due $1,675,000 in 2021.

Texans release G Zach Fulton, save $3 million in salary cap space

The Houston Texans have saved $3 million against the salary cap by releasing center-guard Zach Fulton.

The Houston Texans have made a plethora of moves to bring in new talent over the past 48 hours, which resulted in several Texans losing their jobs.

The Texans have released center-guard Zach Fulton, the team announced Wednesday. With the release, the Texans save a total of $3 million in cap space.

After he began his career with the Kansas City Chiefs (2014-2017), Fulton spent the last three seasons with the Texans. He signed with the organization during the offseason in 2018, where he made the move from center to guard.

The Texans’ offensive line will look different at the start of the 2021 season. In addition to Fulton, Nuck Martin was also released by the Texans less than two weeks ago.

The Texans have sent added Justin Britt and Marcus Cannon to their offensive line group.

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Texans waive former Texas A&M, Katy Taylor FB Cullen Gillaspia

The Houston Texans have waived former Texas A&M and Katy Taylor fullback Cullen Gillaspia, a 2019 seventh-round pick.

The Houston Texans are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to the evaluation of the roster following the club’s 4-12 finish in 2020.

The Texans announced Tuesday they have waived former Texas A&M and Katy Taylor fullback Cullen Gillaspia.

The former 2019 seventh-round pick played 23 games for the Texans in his two seasons with the AFC South club, racking up nine combined tackles. On offense, Gillaspia caught one pass for six yards in the Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. In the postseason, he returned two kickoffs for six yards.

Former coach Bill O’Brien was especially impressed with the way Gillaspia played in the AFC wild-card win over the Buffalo Bills in January of 2020.

“He’s done a lot of good things for us on special teams and we’ve worked them during the week at times,” said O’Brien on Jan. 6, 2020. “We just hadn’t been able to use it that much, but use him in some of the roles that he can do in the backfield and he helped us. On Deshaun’s (Watson) touchdown run, 20-yard touchdown run, Cullen made a great block on that play. He did he did some good things in the game.”

Gillaspia was inactive for four games in 2020. The 6-1, 234-pound fullback was on injured reserve for the final five games of the season. Gillaspia’s season got off to an inconsistent start as he dealt with a concussion.

4 more players the Texans could be cut

The Houston Texans have made roster moves as they get under the salary cap for new league year 2021. Here are four more cut candidates.

The Houston Texans have made moves to get under the salary cap, including cutting locker room leaders such as DE J.J. Watt and C Nick Martin.

Here are four more cut candidates the Texans could release as they prepare for the new league year.

Deshaun Watson has great leverage in holdout with the Texans

Quarterback Deshaun Watson is the one with most of the power in his strained relationship with the Houston Texans.

Deshaun Watson is under contract with the Houston Texans through the 2025 season. Good luck with that holdout.

The three-time Pro Bowler reportedly told new coach David Culley that he has no intentions to play for the Texans ever again; he wants out.

Given the Texans have Watson’s playing rights until the middle of this decade, it appears Watson doesn’t have any choice but to come back to Houston and play ball for his original draft team that he now loathes.

However, a pathway to victory exists for Watson, if he is willing to undergo the same hardships as Le’Veon Bell and sit out the entire season.

If Watson were to never report to the Texans in 2021, he would risk losing $20 million due to fines from the team and missing out on his salary. That is quite the buy-in for Watson in order to dictate where he is going to start the next chapter of his NFL career. It appears that Watson would be cutting off his nose to spite his face.

However, the Texans would be the ones suffering the most in the scenario. Because of their insistence on keeping Watson, they will have gone through significant roster upgrading portions of the offseason not having addressed the quarterback position. Houston will have gotten to September believing Watson will be their quarterback only to discover he isn’t. While comparable to losing a starter to a season-ending injury in preseason, this is even worse because the Texans could have addressed it at any point in the offseason.

The Texans will have also gone beyond a point where Watson’s trade value does nothing but diminish. If the Texans don’t trade Watson before April’s draft, his trade value will drop. The next possible window would be the end of preseason if, God forbid, a Teddy Bridgewater situation hits a team and their starting quarterback is lost for the year, or a contender realizes what a weak link they have under center.

It will take time, but if Watson is serious about leaving Houston, he will gain that inevitable triumph. If the Texans hoard his playing rights in the process, they won’t get nearly enough in return to even attempt to replace the cost of losing a franchise quarterback.

The Texans have more to gain from trading Watson than calling his bluff.

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3 possible cuts from other teams who could help the Texans

The Houston Texans will need to turn over every stone to find advantages in 2021. Here are three potential cuts across the NFL who could help Houston.

The 2021 Houston Texans are already shaping up to be very different from the 2020 version of the team that went 4-12.

On Friday, the team parted ways with running back Duke Johnson and center Nick Martin. Both were considered central acquisitions and re-signings of the Bill O’Brien era and their departure represents a new direction for the team.

Texans fans can expect a myriad of departures in the coming weeks as new general manager Nick Caserio begins to mold the roster to his vision. As such, fans should also expect to see new faces brought in that align with what Caserio and new coach David Culley want the team to look like.

Going off of Pro Football Focus’ cut candidates for all 32 NFL teams, here are three players who, if available, would be able to help the Texans in 2021.

VIDEO: J.J. Watt says he asked Texans for his release

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt says that he asked the McNair family to be released.

All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt says he asked the Houston Texans for his release.

In a video the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year tweeted on Friday morning, Watt explained that he asked for his release from the AFC South club after having a talk with the McNair family earlier in the week.

Watt made a video because he wanted to speak directly to the fans.

“I want to do this on video as opposed to putting out a statement or doing a press conference or anything like that,” Watt said in the video. “Because I want you guys to hear directly from me. I want to speak directly to you and the city of Houston so that you can hear the words straight from my mouth.

 

“I have sat down with the McNair family and I have asked them for my release, and we have mutually agreed to part ways at this time.”

The former 2011 first-round pick from Wisconsin explained to the city of Houston how meaningful they have been to him over the past 10 years.

“I came here 10 years ago as a kid from Wisconsin who had never really been to Texas before,” said Watt. “And, now, I can’t imagine my life without Texas in it. The way that you guys have treated me, besides draft night. You guys booed me on draft night. But every day after that, you treated me like family. And I truly feel like you’re my family. Since that day, I have tried to do everything in my power to work and earn your respect and try to make you proud on and off the field. You guys have given me everything and more, and I can only hope that you feel that I’ve given you everything I have.”

Houston has also been a place where, for Watt, he has met lifelong connections, especially that with his wife, Kealia Ohai.

Said Watt: “The city of Houston has been unbelievable to me. It’s where I met my wife. It’s where I’ve met lifelong friends and teammates. I’ve had incredible coaches and training staff and equipment staff and cafeteria workers and the weight room staff and the front office people — people in streets, people in restaurants, grocery stores, and showing up at my house. The connection is special, and I will never, ever take that for granted because I know how rare it is.”

Watt, who will be 32 on March 22, says he is now getting ready for a new opportunity in a new NFL city, but not without always having gratitude for the city of Houston and Texans fans.

“I’m excited and looking forward to a new opportunity, and I’ve been working extremely hard,” said Watt. “But at the same time, it is always tough to move on. I just want you guys to know that I love you, I appreciate you, I appreciate the McNair family for giving me — drafting me, giving me my first opportunity in the NFL.

“Thank you, Houston. I love you.”

Houston Texans are 3rd in 2021 waiver wire priority

The Houston Texans will be third in the waiver wire priority throughout the 2021 season.

There are some things the Houston Texans didn’t lose in their trade with the Miami Dolphins to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, the waiver wire system restarted on Feb. 9. The waiver wire system works much like the NFL draft order, except the placement can’t be traded away.

As a result, the Texans will have the third crack at any player that is placed on waivers. The only teams ahead of Houston are the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets.

Yates commented, “Good opportunity for Jacksonville to have the first chance at young talent to develop.” Yet the same advantage is as true for the Jets and the Texans as it is for the Jaguars. The NFL has a series of advantages to help teams stay at around .500, and the waiver wire system is one of them.

New general manager Nick Caserio, who has experience working the waiver wire for the New England Patriots as their director of player personnel, will have to find ways to cultivate the best talent off the wire given he won’t have a first or a second-round pick in April’s draft to add premium talent.

Texans sign 6 players to reserve-future contracts

The Houston Texans signed six players to reserve/future contracts on Jan. 4, the day after the 2020 season ended.

The Houston Texans signed six players to the reserve/future contracts on Jan. 4. Here is a look at the six players and what they could add to the team in 2021.