The Houston Texans’ 3-3 record is largely attributed to its homegrown talent manifesting on the gridiron. Any holes that exist can be filled with injured players returning or with more resources in the offseason.
Nevertheless general manager Nick Caserio won’t rule out the possibility of the Texans acquiring a player ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline.
“We’re going to look at our team, figure out is there an opportunity to add a player that we think can help us,” Caserio said Oct. 17. “If there is, great; we’ll pursue it. If there’s not, then we won’t. Like, we feel comfortable with the players that are in the building, that are on the team.”
Even seven weeks into the regular season, the Texans don’t simply look at their active roster, but their football personnel as a whole, including the practice squad.
” It’s really one through 70 or one through 69, however many players are in the building,” said Caserio. “So focus on those players, and if there’s somebody externally that we think can come in here and really have a defined role and have an impact, then we’ll certainly look into that. If there’s not, then we won’t.”
Moves aren’t made simply off draft picks. Houston has the 15th-most salary cap space in the NFL at a little over $7.7 million. The team would have to work in the incoming player’s contract, not only with the 2023 figures, but project them into the fluid 2024 cap situation.
Said Caserio: “There’s always a financial component to this, as well. There’s a certain cost associated with a contract that you take on. So how much are you paying for that player, what’s the cost, can you fit them under the cap. We have, I would say, a pretty good working budget for the duration of the year, so we can take on a certain level of contract, but if it’s more than that, then, okay, we cut half the team or have to do a bunch of cap manipulations, which you just push everything out to future years. It’s not a good way to run a team, not a good way to run a business.”
Taking the role of sellers at the deadline may have been an option in the past, but Houston still has an opportunity to make a positive statement in the last 11 games.