On Thursday last week, Houston Texans EVP/GM Nick Caserio joined me on my morning radio show on SportsRadio 610. That’s a fairly routine occurrence, as he joined us once every three or four weeks. This time, we discussed the trades he made earlier in the week (Tytus Howard sent out, David Montgomery brought in) and previewed the upcoming free agency period.
We spent 40 minutes chatting about the various Texans-related topics, cracked a few jokes, and once we were done, we all went about our business. For Caserio, though, hoping about his business meant putting roster contraction mode into overdrive.
In short, between trades, contract extensions, restructures, and cutting one player in particular, Caserio has been insanely busy. Here are the moves that have been most relevant to putting together a Super Bowl caliber roster:
Joe Mixon and Texans part ways, Texans save $8 million against the cap
One of the strangest sagas in Texans history came to an end last week, when the Texans released Mixon with one season left on his deal, after a 2025 season that Mixon missed with an injury for which we still haven’t gotten a straight answer as to what it was. The reports indicated that Mixon himself requested to be released, but that’s just semantics. The Texans were going to move on from him anyway, and in the process the team saves $8 million against the cap.
Texans extend Danielle Hunter and Dalton Schultz
Hunter and Schultz were both entering the final years of their respective contracts, and as Caserio has done frequently over the last few years, he chose to extend two players who’ve embodied what the team is looking for within their program. Hunter gets around $40 million fully guaranteed in 2027. Schultz gets another year tacked on at around $12.6 million. Hunter has proven to be one of Caserio’s best decisions, as he, along with Will Anderson, provide the most fearsome pass rush in the NFL. Schultz set a record in 2025 for receptions in a season by a Texans tight end. His chemistry with C.J. Stroud is a major selling point in keeping him around for another season after 2026.
Texans restructure Derek Stingley’s and Jalen Pitre’s contracts
The Texans, like the other 31 teams, are going to begin hitting the free agency market at noon Eastern on Monday. Up until last week, the Texans were actually over the salary cap for the upcoming season. With restructures, though, to Stingley’s deal and Pitre’s deal, along with a few other moves, like the Mixon cut, the team should enter this week with around $40 million in cap space to go shopping, presumably for offensive linemen and for re-signing a few Texans from last season.
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