Houston Texans: 2018 Free Agency and Off-Season Primer
By T.A. Mock
The new league year begins March 14th and it has already been a tremendously busy off-season for the NFL. The Houston Texans have an extremely promising roster. However, the team also has a LOT of work to do this off-season. Take a look to see what I think new general manager, Brian Gaine, should do.
The 2018 off-season and season are shaping up to be quite memorable. There has already been a flurry of trades including THREE blockbuster moves by the Cleveland Browns. Yes you read that right, the Browns are finally trying to improve. There are sure to be countless more trades to go down as the free agency chips fall and the draft occurs.
The Houston Texans had the 6th best cap situation this off-season. However, they now have the 5th best due to Richard Sherman signing with the 49ers. Now, they follow only the Jets, Browns, Colts, and Buccaneers. The organization has $67 million to play with to fill holes.
Gaine has an incredible opportunity as GM with the Houston Texans. He has a franchise quarterback in Deshaun Watson and two cornerstone defenders in JJ Watt and JD Clowney. These three amongst other stand out players such as DeAndre Hopkins, Benardrick McKinney, and Whitney Mercilus.
Offensive line will be the biggest puzzle for Gaine and his staff to piece together. The franchise fielded the worst offensive line in the league last year. Three, possibly four, starting jobs will be open this season. Nick Martin seems to be the only guy guaranteed a job next year, and even he needs improvement. There remain fewer holes on the rest of the offense, with tight end being the biggest. There are also several holes on the defensive side of the ball to fill.
Click through the sides to see who the team should target and where they should target them!