After the painful disappointment of the 28-16 loss in the divisional round of the playoffs to the New England Patriots, it’s not hyperbole to say that the Houston Texans are embarking on the most important offseason in franchise history. This is the closest the Texans have come to being a bona fide Super Bowl contender, largely on the back of their elite level defense.
That leaves the offense as the side of the ball that would seemingly need a new coat of paint, not to mention some impactful add-ons. General Manager Nick Caserio met with the media on Wednesday morning, and the offense was a hot topic, from C.J. Stroud’s worthiness as a franchise quarterback to the return (and non-return) of a few 2025 injury absentees.
Here were, in one man’s opinion, the five most important items from Caserio’s press conference, all pertaining to the Texans’ offensive side of the ball, with direct quotes and my comments preceded by “SP:”. Here we go:
Nick Caley will be back next season
“I would anticipate [Offensive Coordinator] Nick [Caley] being here next year. I think Nick learned a lot, [in his] first opportunity as a play-caller. I would say, offensively, probably the last two to three months of the year played pretty good football and did a lot of good things, so there was growth and improvement. There is always areas we can improve and get better.”
SP: The bottom line here is that Caley got noticeably better at his job as the season wore on. You could argue he called his best two games in the playoffs, as the team steamrolled the Steelers on the ground, and in the loss to the Patriots, receivers were schemed open all over the place. The problem was Stroud couldn’t hit any of them. For what it’s worth, Stroud seemed supportive of Caley in his exit press conference on Monday.
Joe Mixon did not get injured doing anything crazy
“He [RB Joe Mixon] didn’t do anything off the field. It wasn’t like he was riding a snowmobile. It was more of a medical condition or situation that just never… It really didn’t improve, maybe as much as everybody would’ve hoped. I’m not trying to evade the question. I think that’s the reality of the question. He didn’t jump off a building; he wasn’t cliff diving. He wasn’t doing anything irresponsible. It was a freak thing. Honestly, I’ve never seen it, the condition.“
SP: Mixon’s injury saga might be the single strangest thing of the DeMeco Ryans Era so far. Mixon spent the entire season (a) on the Non Football Injury version of the injured reserve list and (b) physically, somewhere other than Houston, it seemed. Put it this way — Mixon wasn’t spotted at a single practice all season. The only clarity we received was in the above quote from Caserio, confirming that Mixon didn’t hurt himself doing anything excessively risky.
Tank Dell will be back, but we aren’t sure how good he’ll be
“Good question. To be determined. He [WR Tank Dell] worked very hard. I think our performance group, they do a really good job. I think the players feel that. We have the resources available. Each player is a little bit different, so what’s required for one player might be different for Tank and his situation. But I would anticipate him being available for the offseason and then really April, May and June we’ll probably have a better idea.”
SP: While Mixon’s time with the Texans is likely done, it sounds like Tank Dell will return in 2026, and it also appears he could be participating in spring workouts and the offseason program. Getting the 2023 version of Tank Dell back would essentially be like signing an elite receiver. In his rookie season, Dell was on pace for Nico Collins level stats before breaking his leg in Week 13.
When asked about the offense, Caserio deferred to the team’s record
“I would say we had one of the best teams in the league. We went out there and competed with every team that we played. The most important statistic is winning games. That’s what we’re focused on. We had a good enough team to play any team we played. In the end we didn’t execute well enough. You can’t turn the ball over five times in the Divisional Round. Taking care of the football is the single most important stat correlated to winning. Look it up. It’s the truth. If you don’t turn the ball over you enhance your chances of winning, it’s 85, 90%.”
SP: The main event of the press conference was the litany of questions about the Texans’ offense, and where it landed in 2025 in terms of contributing to the team’s success. When asked about it, Caserio deferred to the team’s overall won-loss record, which ignores the mediocrity on that side of the ball. Distributing equal credit to both sides of the football seemed a bit disingenuous.
When asked about the offense AGAIN, Caserio got a little chippy
“Head Coach] DeMeco [Ryans] and I have never sat it our office and said, ‘Offense is a concern. What do we got to do?’ Got to play better. There are some things we can do better. To build a good team, try to get good players in here with the right mentality and right mindset. Again, I guess [WR] Nico Collins isn’t a good enough player, so maybe we can find a player better than Nico Collins. I don’t know. Try to do the best we can, try to bring good players in this building. Try to put together a good team that gives us a chance to compete each Sunday.”
SP: The questions about the offense persisted, and the quote above Ewan’s the final answer of the press conference. The sarcastic crack about needing to find better players than Nico Collins was a sign of Caserio’s frustration over being questioned about the overall offense’s talent level.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.