ESPN: Texans had the NFL’s worst offseason
Do you agree or disagree?
Highlights: Drafting fourth-round RB Woody Marks, trading for G Ed Ingram
Disappointments: Much of their rebuilt offensive line; hiring OC Nick Caley; signing OT Cam Robinson (one year, $12 million) and LB Nick Niemann (two years, $6 million); trading for S C.J. Gardner-Johnson and WR Christian Kirk
I'm not sure I've seen a team give up on so many meaningful additions so early in the season since the Al Davis days in Oakland. Texans general manager Nick Caserio gave Niemann $4 million guaranteed and then cut the special teamer in August. He traded for Gardner-Johnson, restructured his deal in September and then cut him after three games, leaving Houston on the hook for $8.3 million. Robinson was benched after one game and spent two games on special teams before being traded to the Browns, with the Texans paying $9.2 million for his brief stint.
In all, that's $21.5 million for players who were already off the roster by the end of September. You can applaud Caserio for recognizing that players weren't going to work out and treating the money the Texans spent over the summer as sunk costs, but that's a lot of cash committed to guys who simply weren't good enough to stay in the starting lineup for very long. Robinson wasn't good for the Jaguars or Vikings last season, and the Texans had all summer to look at Gardner-Johnson before they restructured his deal, locking his money in place.
The offseason project of rebuilding the infrastructure around C.J. Stroud hasn't worked. Caley has been unable to spark much of a run game, though Marks looked like a bright spot when given the opportunity to take over the backfield before last week's painful performance against the Seahawks. The various young players and veterans the Texans added haven't made much of a difference, with Stroud running for his life against quality pass rushes on a weekly basis. Aireontae Ersery might end up sticking somewhere along the offensive line, and Ingram has played the best football of his career after being acquired for a sixth-round pick, but Caserio will be looking for more help up front next offseason.
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