Hashtag Sports
  • #Articles
  • #Episodes
  • #Staff
  • Ask Hashtag
What Drives You?

On The Clock: Houston Texans

2/21/2015

0 Comments

 
by Paul Wanecski
Any time a team can go from having the first overall selection and improve their record as quickly as the Houston Texans, one would think they were on the verge of a breakthrough. Alas, they are much further from the playoffs than their record indicates. They also on have a projected $8.9 million in salary cap space to work with.
Synopsis:
After a carousel of quarterbacks, Houston was able to win more games than they deserved built off the strength of a strong and consistent defense, lead by the animal (and former 11th overall selection) JJ Watt. Moving into Bill O'Brien's offensive system will lead into the first official phasing out of older players.

Restructure:

The easiest way to save money is to look at the cap figure for JJ Watt, set to account for over $21 million. While this number is staggering, Houston will want to delay having to restructure his deal as the remainder of his contract is actually pretty reasonable given the size of his deal.

CB Jonathan Joseph has a $12.5 million cap hit for 2015 and is on the last year of his deal. He is solid, however, getting his salary down to $6-8 million this season, that would put his contract in line with his scale of production.

C Chris Myers will become a hot target for a zone blocking scheme offense, something he excelled at during his time with new Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak. His release will free them from his $8 million.

T Tyson Clabo being released will free $1.2 million.

The draft and start of free agency will dictate QB Ryan Fitzpatrick's future. If the team can find an affordable option capable of starting, they will save $3.25 million.

While WR Andre Johnson still has some trade value, the team really needs to look at moving on. They should be able to secure a mid-round selection for the wideout, who has been vocal about his displeasure with the organization for some time.

Resign:
QB Ryan Mallett becomes offensive target number 1. His salary should fall in the $4-5 million range. Even though he has only two career starts, O'Brien's experience with him while in New England proved that Mallett's acquisition last season was more of a test drive.

CB Kareem Jackson, given the weak secondary free agent market, will most likely be too expensive to retain. The team could Transition Tag him but it most likely won't materialize.

LB Brooks Reed will not be back.

T Derek Newton will be a big name, so expect Houston to have to backload a lengthy deal that allows for a low early entry salary.

Draft:
Watch out for the Texans to handcuff what they are able to acquire in free agency with mid to late round selections. They will look to take advantage of this deep wide receiver class. Kevin White (West Virginia), Amari Cooper (Alabama) will be off the board, but plenty of talent will be around in the first and second round.

Given the depth, they may grab a cornerback early or address offensive line needs. The free agency market is stronger at guard and tackle than it is for cornerback, which means the team will have to be very calculated with its approach.

With QB Tom Savage on the roster, a late round quarterback selection seems unlikely.

Free Agency
:
RB Arian Foster is a ticking timebomb. The free agent running back market is so saturated, finding a solid #2 option will not be a challenge.  As always, Texans fans will have to be like Foster in this respect...wait day-to-day. 

Lacking a true slot receiver, Houston may take a flyer on a player who battled injury history or previous lack of production.

They will need more options on the offensive line. Changing schemes in the last two seasons has phased out most of the players who didn't fit the new direction but they are still light in several areas.

Quick Guide to the Rookie Wage Scale
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Youtube Channel

    Archives

    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    2013 Buffalo Bills
    2014 Buffalo Bills
    2015 Buffalo Bills
    2015 NFL Draft
    2016 Buffalo Bills
    2017 Buffalo Bills
    2018 On The Clock
    2019 Buffalo Bills
    2019 Free Agency
    2019 On The Clock
    2020 Buffalo Bills
    2021 Buffalo Bills
    2022 On The Clock
    3 Step Drop
    Buffalo Bills
    Four Down Territory
    Misc
    MLB
    Monday Quick Slant
    Nba
    Nfl
    Nfl-draft
    Nhl
    On-the-clock-2015
    On-the-clock-2016
    On-the-clock-2017
    On-the-clock-2018
    Pocket-presence
    Quick-slant
    Road-trip
    Salary Cap
    The Good The Bad The Ugly
    Tuesday Cover 2
    Videos

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • #Articles
  • #Episodes
  • #Staff
  • Ask Hashtag