The Houston Texans are making moves before free agency begins next week. On Thursday, Houston acquired veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, giving them more depth at wide receiver.
Then on Friday, Houston addressed the offensive line. They reportedly released veteran offensive lineman Shaq Mason. Mason spent the last two years with the Texans after playing the previous eight seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (one) and New England Patriots (seven).
The #Texans are releasing RG Shaq Mason, according to @AaronWilson_NFL 👀 pic.twitter.com/KRNxI4qvI2
— Nick Schwager (@NickSchwagerNFL) March 7, 2025
It doesn't come as a surprise to see the Texans part ways with Mason as the offensive line struggled mightily in 2024. The team will look to improve this unit in the offseason.
However, those aren't the only moves we should expect from the Texans, who are looking to get past the divisional round.
Over the last two seasons, the Texans have advanced to the divisional round, only to lose to the class of the AFC in the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. There’s no shame in losing to those two teams, but DeMeco Ryans’ crew needs to take that next step in 2025. A division title isn’t going to be enough.
That said, for the Texans to achieve this feat, they might have to make some tough decisions on a few players, who are still on the roster. Below, we'll highlight three players on the chopping block after the Texans cut veteran Shaq Mason.
1. Denico Autry, Defensive End
With the Texans having $5.28 million in cap space heading into free agency. Houston could consider cutting veteran defensive end Denico Autry to free up more space.
The 34-year-old defender was a notable disappointment in his first year with the Texans. Autry signed a two-year, $20 million contract last offseason with Houston after an impressive 2023 season in Tennessee (11.5 sacks).
Houston was excited to add Autry into its defensive line rotation, which featured the likes of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. However, things did not go according to plan with Autry as he missed the first six games of the season due to violating the league’s PED policy.
Autry eventually made his 2024 debut in Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers where he had a quarterback hit and a QB pressure in 28 defensive snaps. The veteran defender finished the regular season with 13 combined tackles, six quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, and three sacks.
Despite his regular season struggles, Autry provided a spark in the playoffs as he posted five quarterback pressures and a sack in two games. That said, Houston might be better off parting ways with the 34-year-old as he has a $10.29 million cap hit in 2025.
If the Texans cut Autry with the post-June 1 tag, the Texans would only have $1.5 million in dead money and $8.7 million in cap savings. Houston could use that space to re-sign Derek Barnett or Mario Edwards Jr.