With the NFL Scouting Combine underway in Indianapolis this week, it feels like the NFL’s offseason (which is the best in all of sports, and it’s not even close) is very much underway. Soon, in a few weeks, free agency will begin, and then it’s a sprint to the holy grail of the offseason — the NFL Draft.
We are, though, in kind of an underrated crevice of the offseason, where teams are looking to get their salary caps in order so they have money to light on fire spend during free agency. In other words, there are some serious contract machinations that are about to occur with the Texans in the next couple weeks. With just $5 million in cap space, the Texans are absolutely looking for contracts to restructure and players to cut.
We can look at restructure candidates another time. For now, let’s look at the prime candidates to get released, and let’s do it through the lens of a Texan fan. In other words, which player (or players) do you MOST want to see let go? Moreover, what are the cap ramifications of cutting each one?
Here is where I leave it up to my good friend Garret, who runs the Houston Stressans social media account, an excellent aggregator of Texans’ content. He put up a poll late last week with four logical names for the offseason guillotine. Here is what ti looked like:
These results are direct reflection of the weakest link on the Texans team all season, the interior offensive line, where Green started at left guard for half the season and Mason started at right guard for nearly the entire season. Let’s look at the cap ramifications for all four of these poll choices:
SHAQ MASON, RG
CAP EFFECT: $12.4 million in dead money, $2.1 million net GAIN on the cap
Mason’s game fell off a cliff in 2024, just a year after getting a three year contract extension. Mason is not only the cut fans most want, but probably the most likely to happen. The net savings on the cap for this season would be $2.1 million, but if they label him a post June 1 cut, the Texans can spread the dead money over two seasons, giving them around $9 million in cap space for this March.
KENYON GREEN, LG
CAP EFFECT: $4.3 million in dead money, $725,000 net GAIN on the cap
Releasing Green would be the overt admission that the Green pick was a bust, as if it’s ever looked like anything other than a bust. Green’s gotten plenty of opportunities, and obviously as a former top 15 pick, he has tons of physical tools. However, he just can’t stay healthy. I’d guess he will be in camp competing for a spot, and not realized, but Texan fans seem about done with the Kenyon experience.
DALTON SCHULTZ, TE
CAP EFFECT: $16 million in dead money, $2 million net LOSS on the cap
Let’s be clear — Schultz is not getting cut, but his contract extension that he signed last season — three years, $36 million — is not looking great right now. His stats went backwards from his first Houston season in 2023, and much more damning, his blocking was atrocious. There is hope that new OC Nick Caley’s background as a tight ends coach might give the Texans the best version of Schultz. They need it.
JIMMIE WARD, S
CAP EFFECT: $4.6 million in dead money. $1 million net GAIN on the cap
Look, the only reason Ward gets mentioned in the same breath with the players above is his complete inability to stay healthy. He’s missed about half the possible games he could have played as a Texan, with various injuries. When he’s on the field, he’s a net positive, but when you can’t count on him being on the field, that’s a big problem. Still, I’m fairly certain he doesn’t get cut. DeMeco Ryans loves Jimmie Ward and his leadership.
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