The Houston Texans are in a solid salary cap situation two weeks into free agency and a month away from the NFL draft.
Houston will have just under $16 million following a bevy of moves, according to TexansCap and Over The Cap. They began the 2024 league year with around $75 million but dolled out big contracts to Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry and signed recently-acquired running back Joe Mixon to an extension.
Updated Houston #Texans cap space numbers. Please see notes at bottom of the visual. pic.twitter.com/fxUBLc7Ss4
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) March 25, 2024
This number ranks 16th in the NFL, per Over The Cap. The Texans rank 13th in offensive and 15th in defensive expenses in 2024 so far.
As noted, it’s still unclear what the Texans are paying Derek Barnett and C.J. Henderson and what the Shaq Mason contract restructure looks like. This is still a very solid number to work with — especially with some quality free agents still left on the market.
Houston’s salary cap surprise is the result of a rookie on a quarterback contract, two young wide receivers and a relatively cheap secondary. C.J. Stroud’s inexpensive price tag is huge and a big reason why general manager Nick Caserio could doll out so many contracts this offseason. Tank Dell and Nico Collins are also on rookie deals, though Collins’ could sign an extension as early as this spring.
No first-round pick also alleviates a lot of money pressures given how much more expensive rookie deals are in the first round relative to the rest of the draft.