Tag: Texans salary cap

Projected rookie contracts for each of the Texans’ 2023 draft picks

Here is a look at the projected rookie contracts for the Houston Texans’ 2023 draft class.

The Houston Texans went all-in during the 2023 NFL draft, and have laid the foundation for a successful future with their newest crop of talent.

Between C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson alone, the team seems to have found two cornerstone players to buoy both sides of the ball next season and for years to come.

But just how much will these fresh faces cost the team over the course of the next several years? Take a look below to get an idea of just how much the Texans’ 2023 draft class will be paid on their rookie contracts. All figures are from Spotrac.

Texans restructuring the contract for safety Eric Murray, clearing over $700K in salary cap space

The Houston Texans are restructuring the contract for safety Eric Murray to clear over $700,000 in salary cap space.

NFL contracts have triggers in them that teams can flip to create salary cap space, and that is precisely what general manager Nick Caserio did to give the Houston Texans a little more breathing room.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans restructured the contract for safety Eric Murray, providing $732,500 in salary cap space.

What the Texans did was give Murray a $1.465 million signing bonus in order to create the space.

Houston originally signed Murray to a two-year, $10 million contract at the beginning of last free agency.

The rise of second-round rookie Jalen Pitre cut into Murray’s playing time. The 29-year-old played all 17 games for Houston, and delivered 27 combined tackles. However, his snaps were lopsided in favor of special teams: 403 to 119 on defense.

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Why S Eric Murray could be the Houston Texans’ salary cap casualty

The Houston Texans may say goodbye to safety Eric Murray as they look to save salary cap space.

The Houston Texans have the fourth-most salary cap space in the NFL heading into the 2023 offseason. With over $37.1 million in space available, the Texans have plenty of capital to sign free agents or keep veterans they like.

However, general manager Nick Caserio doesn’t want to waste the McNair’s money on players who aren’t maximizing their contracts. Decisions will have to be made ahead of free agency.

According to Michael Renner from Pro Football Focus, one salary cap casualty on the Texans’ roster could be safety Eric Murray.

Murray’s status as a key special teams contributor may keep him around, especially with general manager Nick Caserio coming from a New England Patriots organization that put more emphasis on retaining quality special teamers than perhaps anywhere else.

That said, Murray logged just 118 snaps on defense amid the emergence of young contributors like second-round pick Jalen Pitre, so a pay cut may be required to stay in Houston.

Murray would cost the Texans $1,357,500 in dead money against the salary cap, but would save the Texans $4 million in salary cap space.

The former Kansas City Chiefs 2016 fourth-round pick generated 27 combined tackles through 17 games for Houston.

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Houston Texans will work with $224.8M salary cap in 2023

The Houston Texans and the other 31 NFL teams will have a salary cap of $224.8 million in 2023.

The salary cap continues to rise annually in the NFL, and one of the beneficiaries of the expanding cap is the Houston Texans.

According to Tom Pelissero from the NFL Network, the salary cap will increase from $208.2 million in 2022 to $224.8 million in 2023.

The figures over at Spotrac indicate the Texans will have the fifth-most salary cap in 2023 at $37.1 million.

Houston will be able to sign free agents and retain some of their players on expiring contracts. The extra space is one of the benefits that a new coaching staff would have to work with when it comes to talent acquisition.

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Texans LT Laremy Tunsil is motivated by more than money

More than money or a bigger salary is the impetus for Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil and his desire to be great.

ESPN published an exclusive interview with Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil Dec. 28 with the title “Texans’ Laremy Tunsil wants new deal to ‘reset’ tackle market.”

On its face the title gives the impression Tunsil is just in it for the money. The former Miami Dolphins 2016 first-round pick makes $22 million annually according to Over The Cap, and the Texans will have to evaluate the impact of his $35.2 million salary cap hit in 2023.

The first quotes from Tunsil also seem to support the notion that the blindside protector is about the money only.

“I don’t know who’s the highest right now, maybe Trent [Williams] at 23 [million], but I want to top that,” Tunsil told ESPN. “Always want to reset the market. Perfect opportunity to reset the market. Everything is lining up as far as my contract to how I’m playing. Everything lining up perfectly.”

However, making a quick summation of Tunsil based on the first set of quotes and the article title misses the real reason for Tunsil’s overall quest.

“Something that motivated me during the offseason was an article that came out that said I was a very good starter,” Tunsil said. “So that gave me your fuel to just get back to playing football because I did miss 12 games last year because of the thumb injury. But just coming back just to show everybody that I am the best tackle.”

Tunsil doesn’t want to be the highest paid tackle just for the sake of earning that much money; he wants the contract to match his production on the field. In other words, when measuring greatness at left tackle, whether by production on the field or looking at contracts, Tunsil wants his name at the top of the list.

The 28-year-old could have found ways to shirk his responsibilities to his teammates; the 2-12-1 campaign has not been fun for anyone except maybe punter Cam Johnston, who has had 78 punts this season, the third-most in the NFL, and the second-most of his career.

Yet Tunsil showed up, and played at a high level.

General manager Nick Caserio will have to determine if negotiating an extension with Tunsil is in the best interests of completing the rebuild. If the Texans released Tunsil in the offseason, they would owe a little over $16 million against the salary cap.

Peter King blames both Texans and Brandin Cooks for current situation

Both the Houston Texans and receiver Brandin Cooks are to blame for their current impasse according to NBC Sports’ Peter King.

The Houston Texans may have a disgruntled veteran in their locker room with receiver Brandin Cooks.

The former New Orleans Saints 2014 first-round pick expressed his displeasure in a subtle way on Twitter after the trade deadline passed and he was not dealt to a more competitive club.

According to Peter King from NBC Sports, there aren’t really any winners when it comes to the situation with the Texans and Cooks. However, both are losers.

Houston and Brandin Cooks both lost. Cooks should have known he was casting his lot with a losing team when he signed for $18 million guaranteed in 2023, and that was going to be a near-impossible contract to trade without the Texans paying much of it. They wouldn’t do it, so now they’re stuck with a bitter player (even if it’s his fault) who they’ll have to take 20 cents on the dollar for next spring if they trade him then.

Part of the appeal with bringing Cooks back was his presence in the locker room and his consistent approach. Cooks posted a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2020, which some could attribute to playing with the NFL passing champion for that season. Yet Cooks followed it up in 2021 with Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills under center.

The Texans also didn’t show very much foresight when it came to keeping Cooks around longer. Houston went to a run-heavy offense and the opportunities to get on the same page with Mills haven’t been as plentiful.

Hindsight is always clearer, but the Texans should have given themselves wiggle room and not extended Cooks. That way, if they were in a non-competitive situation, as they are with their 1-6-1 record, they could easily send the 29-year-old on to a better situation to get the most of his dwindling prime years.

For both the Texans and Cooks, the rest of the way is a countdown until divorce.

Houston Texans positional spending: Where the salary cap dollars are spent in 2022

Here is a look at the salary cap allocation for the Houston Texans roster entering the 2022 season.

The Houston Texans are trying to turn the page on their rebuilding phase and get back to contending for playoff spots.

One of the NFL’s attempts to have parity in the league is the imposition of a hard salary cap. As a result, teams can’t go out and get the best talent money can buy. Teams have to be prudent with their cap dollars, which involves putting more money at certain positions.

All figures are via Spotrac. The offense is getting $87,787,436, 41.02% of the salary cap while the defense is getting $83,871,788, or 39.19% of the cap. Special teams has been allocated $8,180,833, or 3.82% of the cap.

Here is a breakdown by position of where the Texans’ dollars are going in 2022.

Houston Texans salary cap: 16 players responsible for $52.7M in dead money

The Houston Texans owe over $52.7 million in dead money, a goodly portion of their salary cap. Here are the 16 players responsible for the dead money.

Part of general manager Nick Caserio’s job in rebuilding the Houston Texans is taking chances with contracts, or moving on from players who don’t exactly fit with the current vision for the team.

In releasing and trading players, the Texans have accrued $52,712,957 in dead money that will remain on their books throughout the 2022 campaign.

However, the Texans’ salary cap situation should look more optimistic once the team is able to get upfield into the 2023 offseason when some of these contracts are off the books.

Here is a look at the 16 players who are responsible for the dead money. All figures are from Over The Cap.

Texans clear cap space by cutting OT Marcus Cannon

The Houston Texans have saved $5.2 million by cutting tackle Marcus Cannon.

The Houston Texans are finding salary cap savings where they can.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Pro Football Network, the Texans have released tackle Marcus Cannon, saving the team $5,202,941 against the salary cap per Over The Cap figures.

Cannon was one of a handful of former New England Patriots players who found new life following Nick Caserio to his general manager role in Houston. The former 2011 fifth-round pick from TCU played in just four games for the Texans in 2021, starting in all four of them. The theory was that if Cannon manned right tackle, the Texans could kick Tytus Howard inside at guard while Laremy Tunsil played left tackle. Injuries to both Tunsil and Cannon forced Houston to move Howard to left tackle.

The 6-6, 335-pound tackle was a COVID opt out in 2020, and relished the chance to play ball again with the Texans.

“Coming back, it was kind of emotional and I was excited to come and play,” Cannon told reporters on Sept. 17, 2021. “I’m very thankful. I thank God every day that I’m back and I’m here this year to play, and I’m thankful and I’m going to make the best out of it.”

Although Cannon played barely a quarter of a season’s games for the Texans, he made an impact on tackle Charlie Heck during his second season in the pros.

“Something that he always does, because he’s had such a long career, he sees some things that he would do early on in his career that I would be doing,” Heck told reporters on Oct. 11, 2021. “So, he says, ‘These are things I wish I had somebody kind of helping me with when I was younger.’

“So, he’s been able to do that for me, seeing little things in pass protection or the run game that I think will go a long way.”

The Texans will owe over $35 million in dead money to these 11 players in 2022

In 2022, the Houston Texans will owe over $35 million in dead money against the salary cap to these 11 players.

Pro football is hard. It’s even harder when you make bad decisions with the salary cap.

The errors of the last regime have given general manager Nick Caserio a disadvantage that he has had to work through in 2021 while also attempting to field a competitive team. 2022 should be better as Houston will have their full complement of draft picks, but the salary cap situation is still less than idea for a rebuilding team.

According to Over the Cap, the Texans will owe $35,255,576 to 11 players who aren’t even on the team. Here are the 11 players who will cost the Texans dead money in 2022.