LIVE: Houston Texans EVP & GM Nick Caserio addresses the media

LIVE: Houston Texans EVP & GM Nick Caserio addresses the media

You So hours too warm my hair. Is it? I’m just kidding. Uh, morning. Welcome to training camp. Good to be here. Uh, a couple non- football related items kind of before we get started. um you know certainly be remiss if didn’t acknowledge um you know what went on um with the flooding there um in the middle of the state you know few weeks ago I’m I’m sure the number of people have been affected number of people that we all know you all know probably been affected in some capacity um I mean it’s devastating honestly and to see the support that you know people have received from not only the Texans but throughout the state of Texas uh it’s kind of heartwarming kind of puts everything in perspective um in addition you know cert Certainly uh thoughts and prayers to the Braymond family over his passing. Um even though I wasn’t around Brian, definitely distinctly remember his career. Um the impact that he had on the Texans. Um I know he was a player that, you know, we had to account for in a kicking game, but there’s a great example of a player wasn’t drafted, made the most of his opportunities. Um lasted seven, eight years, whatever it was. Um and then to be lost at 38 years old, I mean, honestly puts everything in perspective. I mean what we’re doing here is important but in the end it’s really not that important. So it doesn’t really matter. I mean football is football but I mean life takes on I would say more significance is a lot bigger than any of us in this room and you know anybody within this organization anything that we do on the field. So certainly be remiss if I didn’t you know share a few thoughts there. Um on a lighter note uh congratulations to the uh the Austin girls team there the Houston Texans flag championship. So, I think at some point we’ll probably see them around here at some point. But, um, it just goes to show you the growth of not only our sport, but the interest in flag football. Um, kids of all levels, all ages, uh, boys, girls. So, it’s kind of cool to see that. So, there’s definitely significant growth. Um, don’t ask me about the Olympics, what’s going to happen in 2028. So, we’ll leave that one alone for now. But, uh, you know, just kind of on a personal level, um, fortunate to to be going into year 25, um, very grateful for the opportunity that I have on a day-to-day basis to be a part of this organization, be part of the NFL, um, to be able to contribute in some small capacity. Certainly means a lot. Don’t take it lightly. Um, so, you know, we’re uh, we’re excited to get started. Good opportunity for our team. Um, a lot of work in front of us. 20 practices, three preseason games, and then we open up uh against, you know, one of the best teams in the league in the Rams. So, a lot of work to do. Um had a good spring, team’s in a good spot. I think we have a pretty good football team, but in the end, it’s going to come down to how well we execute, you know, in games. So, um you know, with that, you know, certainly take some questions and go from there. Nick, what’s the situation with Jimmy? Yeah, kind of working through that. I mean, kind of let the legal process kind of take care of itself. Um, you know, we’ve been in contact with the league. We’ll work with the league. We’ll we’ll be compliant on our end. We’ll do the best we can. Um, so I think it’s day to day. Um, but kind of let that process kind of take care of itself and whatever the outcome is, you know, we’ll handle it accordingly. Texans have never had a guy record. What went into thought process? Yeah, sure. I mean, a lot of thought goes into it. Um, a lot of conversation. I mean, you take all the information into consideration. Um, you go through a pretty extensive vetting process, which we did. So, um, I think where Damon is now relative to where he was earlier in his career is at a different point. Um, you know, you just are honest about those conversations. Um, you know, I think Damon’s trying to do the right things. Um, try to put himself in a position to take advantage of his opportunities. Um, you know, we’re inclined if we feel it’s appropriate to give somebody a second chance. Um, we’ll see how it goes. I mean, Damon’s got to earn his opportunity. Um, but he’s been good to work with. He’s had a good attitude. He’s had a good approach. So, we’ve always taken the approach regardless of what’s happened in the past, regardless of how grave or the gravity of the situation or what it is, understand what it is, and then when a player walks in our building, they kind of have a clean slate and they’re starting from scratch. So, you know, I think it’s important just to be honest. Um, had conversations with, you know, with the McNairs and about his situation. So, not trying to hide anything. So, we just kind of take it case by case and try to do the best we can with the the information, the opportunities that are in front of us. In regards to the building, yeah, Jimmy’s here. He reported for training camp, so he’s around. So, physically wasn’t going to be able to do much anyways. So, kind of take it day by day and we’ll see what the outcome is. Yeah, I’d say a lot of players. I mean, it’s really every player is a little bit different, so whatever their situation is, wherever they are medically, we’ll kind of take it one day at a time. Um, we’re not going to put any timets on anything. So, we’ll deal with it. You know, we have 90 players that are here. Some are able to practice, some aren’t. At some point, they’ll be able to practice. So, as far as what it looks like once the regular season starts, probably a long way away from that. So, I think it’s important for everybody to go out here and kind of establish their level of play, their performance, take advantage of their opportunities. you know, this camp is going to be about competition. I mean, that’s what it’s going to be about. Um, the roster will kind of sort itself out, but like I mentioned a little bit earlier, 20 practices, three preseason games, try to get a good evaluation of the players we feel we need to get evaluation of and then put ourselves into position really with the focus, I mean, again, the Rams are one of the best football teams in the league. So, you know, it’s going to be a big challenge in front of us. We understand what that is. So there’s kind of a balance of got to get the team ready but also kind of have our sights set in front of us with the first opponent which will be a significant challenge for sure. Nick, where do you stand up? Yeah, we have a number of players here with varying levels of experience. We’ve talked about that. So training camp will really be good opportunity for us to evaluate be a lot of competition. I mean games are won and lost on the fronts. So I mean you look across the league. So, and you build your your mental and physical toughness, your physical play in training camp. So, once the pads come on, we’ll have a better idea of what that looks like, what that entails. But, it’s been a good group to work with. They’ve had a good attitude. They work hard. They’re coachable, varying levels of experience. I mean, Cole’s done a great job with that group. So, we’ll put the five best out there. And like I said, we’ll have eight at the game each week. How many we carry on the roster, you know, we’ll always do what we think is best for the team. to co talked about want to change the culture in that room quite a bit in the offseet in there. Do you feel like you did that? Like what says that you did that? Yeah, we’ll see. I mean, in the end, I mean, offensive line play is about attitude. It’s about physical toughness. So, and being able to do you got to be able to do certain level certain number of things to I would say a competitive enough level. So, we’ll find out. I mean, again, we have young players, we have veteran players. Um, I think they have the right mindset. So honestly, it starts with the with Cole and kind of trickles down. But in the end, it’s about the players and them relying on one another, them pushing one another and being able to go out there and perform. I mean, the offensive line really, it’s about five players kind of playing as a unit. There’s a lot of things that are involved. There’s essentially communication on every play. Where’s the mic identification? Who we pushing to? Where are the problems? Does everybody see the picture the same way? So everything kind of goes inside out. So relative to the communication. So we’ll kind of see what that looks like. Understand each week’s going to be a different challenge from the defense who we see what our defense does going to be different than what the Rams do. So it’s just understanding where the problems are. Get the information communicated appropriately and making sure we’re getting the blockers distributed appropriately. There going to be times where the defense wins and there are going to be times where, you know, we win. So hopefully we’re on the positive side of the ledger more often than not. So um you know, we’ll see how it goes in training camp. Excited for that group. Um, it’s a good group, so we’ll let the competition kind of sort itself out. The new system, the new offensive system. I know when they hired Bobby, it was kind of like a learning experience for you. You said you were learning a lot about the new system. How does your familiarity with what Kaylee does change the way maybe you are as like an asset on the offense? Not necessarily. I mean, I try to stay out of the way. So, just try to have an understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish. I mean, offensive football on the end, it’s about three things. It’s about moving the ball, it’s about scoring points, and it’s about taking care of the football. So you can put whatever system you want to put on the field. That’s what offensive football is about. And if you win three to two, like that’s a good outcome. If you win 50 to 49, that’s a good outcome. If you run the ball 40 times in a game and win, that’s a good outcome. If you have to throw it 50 times. So I mean, I think the big thing is what do we got to do each week relative to the opponent? I mean, that’s what offensive football comes down to. So again, my experience doesn’t necessarily have any relevance to where we are now. We’re about the 2025 Texans offense, what that looks like, and we’ll find out here in training camp. We’ll get a little more information. In the end, it’s about going out there and being able to move the ball and score points. What do you like about that combination of Kirk and bringing both of those guys out here? Yeah, I mean, Kurt’s got a lot of experience. Um, been a productive player with his opportunities, um, you know, when he’s been when he’s been healthy and available. So, very professional, very smart. He’s not just an inside to formation player. has some position flexibility. Um, Higgins, I mean, he’s a young player. Um, you know, we think he has some traits and attributes that we that we like, which is why we drafted him. Um, so he’s got a lot of work in front of him. So, he’s going to face some challenges like most young players do, but I would say overall collectively that group really good attitude. I mean, it really they’re emblematic of kind of the team. I think we got a number of players on this team that are focused on work and kind of let their actions do the talking. Um, because in the end, like everybody can talk and say, you know, what’s going to happen? we can do this. We want that to happen. But in the end, it’s going to come down to the work. It’s going to come down to our actions on the field and it’s going to come down to our execution. So, um, you know, we feel pretty good about that group. I think we have pretty good depth. So, you know, kind of let the competition sort itself out. Yeah, I mean, CJ’s had a good off season. I mean, our expectations for him are no different than every other player. Just be the best you can be each day. go out there and try to do the job to the best of your ability. I mean, if everybody does that and collectively as a team, we’re going to be a pretty good spot. So, again, this program, and Demo has said it, I’ve said it, it’s not about one player, it’s not about one individual, it’s not about one position, it’s we’re going to need everybody at some point to do their job. And the better they can do to prepare themselves for the rigors of the season, the better off we’re all going to be. We’ll take one in the back there. Yeah. Yeah. I’m not really sure like what that like what the next step is. I mean, we have a good football team, so we’ve been one of the best eight teams in the league the last two years. So, what’s going to happen beyond that? I mean, nobody has any idea. I don’t have any idea. Nobody else has any idea. Anybody that says they do is probably like wrong. So, can we put ourselves in a position each week to give ourselves an opportunity to win? What the end result is? I mean, honestly, we’re focused on the work. We’re focused on the process, and that’s not going to change. So, you have to put a significant amount of time and energy and effort into developing your foundation, building your football team up, and in the end, it’s about what happens on Sunday. So, I mean, the focus is going to be on the Rams. Anything beyond that, I mean, honestly, it’s a big waste of time. So, I don’t spend much time on it. Demo doesn’t spend much time on it. We’re not going to spend much time on it. That’s where you all talk about building your players, your best players extensions. Can you talk about you signing an extension? Pardon me. Can you talk about you signing an extension? Uh, yeah. I don’t think there’s anything new to report on my end. So, I mean, again, I’ve never talked about anything that I’ve done, you know, privately. So, I love being here. got a great opportunity, got great support from ownership, phenomenal head coach, great working relationship with him. So, I’m just thankful for the opportunity that I have. I mean, nothing’s new. I don’t have anything to report on my end. So, uh I’m just here to kind of take it one day at a time and you try to do the best I can for the organization, for ownership, for the players, and for the coaches. So, um as long as they have me here, I’ll stay and then when they want to kick me to the curb, then I’ll go find and do something else. But love being here and grateful for the opportunity I have each day. Is there one thing about team that excites you the most during this season? Yeah, I want to say the attitude and the approach to work. Um, we have a lot of guys that are very diligent and it’s about the work and not really worry about a bunch of superolous things or things on the periphery that really don’t have any relevance to winning. Um, I mention I might have mentioned this to to Sean and Seth um a little bit earlier in the spring, but just anecdotally um it was a little bit later in the spring. I want to say it was sometime in June where my our Demo and our our offices are situated. You can the wait room’s wipe right behind us and you have the window. Um so I hear just some random noise and I kind of you know peaked my head over the over my shoulder. I mean Higgins and Null were in there with our helmets on catching off the jugs in the afternoon when nobody was around. So I would say that’s kind of a microcosm of the team and the players that we have and that’s where we want to keep the focus. Um, and I think our our players are motivated more about just putting a good product out there and putting the work in and not necessarily worry about other things that are outside of their control. The improvement and development of Yeah, you’d be hardressed to find probably a player that’s improved as much as Kade in the offseason. Really took advantage of his opportunities. Um, he’s always had the right mentality and the right approach and the right mindset. I think most young players going from year one to year two have an opportunity for growth and development really more physically because they kind of have a full year in the program. So as soon as the season is over, what do you do in February, March, April, May to get yourself ready for the offseason program? Kate along with a number of other players certainly took advantage of his opportunities. You know, we’re glad Kate is here and and looking forward to potentially what he can bring to our football team. contract got a lot of attention kind of once a month. I know you love this topic. Uh what was your mindset on that and do you think it’s kind of overblown that y’all impacted the entire second round? Yeah, I would say it’s really much to do about nothing. I think it was a kind of fabricated story. Like let’s just take a step back and again when you’re reading about like this in the Wall Street Journal, you know, like everybody’s got too much time on their hands. But just philosophically when you look at like say contracts in the second round specifically. So when you look at the top of the second round last year I want to say like those contracts were like 92 93% fully guaranteed right? So let’s just kind of fast forward adjust for inflation a little bit. There’s probably going to be some marginal increase. So let’s just say the number is you know 3 to 5%. Right? So that small margin that’s left, it’s a difference of it’s not that much. I mean, you guys are all smart. You can do the math. So again, we’re trying to get ahead and stay ahead on trends. Eventually, it was probably going to get there anyways. So we just felt like that was the right thing for us to do. And I think what happened after that honestly, you know, was a non-story that was made into a story. But I mean, everything kind of worked itself out. I think all of us in the league, myself included, have anticipated, you know, at some point, you know, probably the first four or five, you’re going to end up at that spot anyways. So, why wait around? Why kind of bicker back and forth, go back and forth on the agents, like get to a resolution. I mean, I think people that kind of know me and that negotiate with me, I’m kind of a bottom line guy. So, let’s get to the bottom line. Let’s not hem and haw. And, you know, if we think everybody’s comfortable with it, then we’re going to go ahead and move forward. Didn’t really impact ursery, you know, which is a part of the second round. I think that was more of some other factors that led to kind of the the stall there. So, we’re always going to handle business however we see fit. Try to do it logically, be pragmatic about it, try to do it in a responsible way. Um, so again, the offseason, not a lot of people, there’s not a lot of things to talk about. So, when I start being a Wall Street Journal, like I mean, you know that like this is kind of it’s a nothing deal. So, you didn’t change the game or anything? No, I’m not that smart. Believe me. your fears went? I didn’t hear anything from anybody. So, you mentioned the attitude, the desire to work. How have you seen that kind of itself in this last couple years off? Yeah, football’s ultimately about the players. So, if you have players that walk in the building with that mentality and mindset, I would say, you know, we’re very purposeful with the type of people that we bring in the building because in the end, like they’re the ones that are going to go out there and play. So, you win with toughness. You win with physicality. You win with selflessness in this league. So, who are the players that have those records or qualities? We certainly prioritize that. You have to be able to play football. Like, I’m not going to put my head in the sand and be naive to the fact you have to be able to go out there and execute your job and play football, but you can find players who are good at football and have the other traits that we prioritize and covet. So, we make a commitment to that. And at times if you feel like you’re going to step outside of that, that’s okay. You just want to make sure that you have a reason for doing that. So as long as you have the foundation in place and again when people walk in the building and they see Will Anderson, they see Jaylen Petri, they see the approach that those players have, if you walk in and aren’t doing the right things, like everybody’s going to know. So that’s part of our responsibility. It’s something that we emphasize to our scouting staff and you know we have one of the best scouting staffs in the league. Fortunate to work with that group on a day-to-day basis. They understand what’s important, what we think wins in this league. So, we’re going to prioritize that and that’s our commitment to doing the right thing. And in the end, it’s about doing the right thing by the players. Yeah, making progress. Um, you know, kind of one day at a time. Um, but Tanks had a good attitude. He’s been in the building essentially every day. He’s working really hard. So, we’re not going to put any timets on anything. If he’s ready to play, great. If he’s not, he’s not. So, we’ll kind of take it take it as it comes. As someone who’s been in the league for a while, what have you seen in terms of like technology and specifically as it relates to work? Yeah, it’s a great question. You really can incorporate in a lot of different areas. um how you watch tape, how you curate information, aggregate information, how much data you collect on the players and really with the idea of providing them information and so we can evaluate and look at trends and look at areas that we can improve. So I mean I joke with my girls about this because their father they think it’s all about efficiency but technology is about efficiency. So it would help streamline some things. So there’s a timing element. Uh when I was a scouting assistant, you were coding beta tapes. So if you were doing four players, it would you essentially would have to go through and mark the four or five different players and then go back and create the tape. It took a long time. Um now there’s technology where if you want to go to a player’s targets, you want to go watch certain rushes or pressures, you can click a button and go to that. So we’ve seen technology integrate into football. Um, we’re, I would say, starting to keep pace a little bit with other sports. Baseball is probably the furthest ahead. Baseball and basketball, they’re a little bit more static relative to what goes on kind of in a fixed element. On a field, there’s a lot more variables, but some things off the field, you incorporate it. Scouting, operations, sports science. So, we’re always going to look at opportunities. We’re not just going to use technology just to do it. Is there an application? Great. If there is and we can incorporate it, then we’ll investigate it. If it doesn’t work, then you know, we’ll look at something else. But it definitely has a place. Really, it has a place in all of our lives. Um, but and football is no exception. What are you hoping to see from him? Yeah, I mean, same thing. Expectation for him. Come out here, work hard, be the best version of yourself each day, and don’t put any timets on it. You know, Christian’s play a lot of good snaps for us here. So, you know, whenever he’s ready to play and whatever he’s able to do to help the team, that’s what the focus is. Where have you kind of seen team grow the most from when you first got here? Uh, I mean, I think we’ve improved hopefully we’ve improved kind of the the personnel and I think we’ve created a team where we feel like we’ve given ourselves an opportunity to go out there and win each week. I mean, margins are very small in this league. I mean, 70% of the games were one-sore games in the fourth quarter last year. So that’s all you’re trying to do is create a team that on a week- toeek basis you feel provides an opportunity for you to win. Doesn’t mean you’re going to win. Um but and I think we have over time we’ve been able to in all areas just bring in people that are selfless that have the right mindset that want to work hard that put the team first and are about winning because in the end this league is about winning and when you win makes everybody happy. One more thing, John 15 years going to be strange. What went into the decision to move on? Yeah, you know, hopefully John’s number will be in the rafters here. Um, you know, when he retires from football, meant a lot to this organization. Um, he’s made a significant impact, you know, in the community. Um, you know, John was a free agent, so we kind of went through that process. He made a decision that, you know, he felt was in his best interest to sign with San Francisco. So wish him nothing but the best. Hold him in the highest regard. Um, you know, meant a meant a lot to me personally and in a time that we were together. Um, so, you know, wishing him and his family, you know, nothing but success and he’ll always going to be a part of the Texas organization. So, I mean, I think that’s a good example of, you know, the only thing that’s consistent in this league is change. So, you know, John will do a good job for the 49ers. You know, we’ll see him a little later in the year when we play them, but certainly wish him and his family well and, you know, embrace him with open arms when he comes back to the Texans. Anybody else? All right. Thanks y’all. Appreciate it.

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