In the coming days, I’ll be doing brief synopses for each NFL team regarding their current cap situation and offseason approach they should take.
We’ll start with the teams that have the most cap space available, then work our way down to those teams who have less cap space, to those who have work to do to gain cap space.
Each synopsis will look at cap space (or how much over the cap), players under contract, total draft picks, any players with a fifth-year option decision ahead and notes about the most notable free agent, the most likely player cut and the quarterback situation.
In this installment, we’ll look at the Houston Texans.
Players under contract for 2026: 59
Projected cap space: $1.4M over the cap
Total draft picks: Eight (No. 28 in first round)
Most notable free agent: Ed Ingram
Most likely roster cut: Joe Mixon
Fifth-year option decision: CJ Stroud, Will Anderson Jr.
Quarterback situation: CJ Stroud hasn’t played as well as he did in his rookie season but the Texans will likely stick with him. Davis Mills is still under contract as the veteran backup.
The ideal offseason approach:
The biggest offseason decision will be Stroud’s fifth-year option. Though he didn’t play well in 2025, the Texans may go ahead and pick up the option, because they have no guarantees of finding better QB play for less than the $27.3M he would make.
Picking up Anderson’s option is a much easier decision and then the Texans will need to work to extend him. Along with that, they’ll need to make a few moves to get under the cap, with some decisions that will likely be easier than others.
It’s best for the Texans not to look too much into free agency to improve the team. They are in a good position as far as draft capital goes, with four picks in the first three rounds, so that’s where the emphasis should be to improve the team.