Texans Fans Will be Happy to See Veteran Defender Leave This Offseason

The Houston Texans are looking ahead to the offseason after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round last month. The AFC South champions will ponder changing the offensive and defensive lines while discussing whether to re-sign veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

One of those changes the Texans could look to make on the defensive line is potentially cutting veteran Denico Autry. The 34-year-old signed a massive two-year, $20 million deal last year in free agency after spending the previous three years with the Tennessee Titans.

Over his three-year run with the Titans, Autry was a sack machine, amassing 28.5 sacks, which included 11.5 last season. The Autry signing looked like a good move on paper for head coach DeMeco Ryans and GM Nick Caserio.

However, Autry’s first season with the Texans would be a huge disappointment. The league suspended the defensive lineman for the first six games for violating the NFL’s PED policy.

After serving his suspension, Autry appeared in 10 games with the Texans, including two starts. However, the veteran defender also played only 47% of defensive snaps – the lowest since his rookie season with the Oakland Raiders in 2014 (19%).

In his limited time on the field, Autry only racked up 13 combined tackles, six quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and three sacks. The last time the former Titans defensive lineman had around three sacks was in 2019 with the Indianapolis Colts (3.5).

The veteran could not get to the quarterback as he had nine pressures. According to PFF, he had a 61.0 pass rush (ranking 95th among 211 EDGEs) and a 53.8 run defense grade (159th). 

That will not get it done, especially when you have Derek Barnett and Mario Edwards Jr., who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents and outplayed Autry. Therefore, if I’m in the Texans front office, I think about cutting Autry this offseason.

Autry has a potential out in his contract for 2025 with a $4.5 million cap hit. However, he also has a $10.5 million cap hit for next season, which would be foolish for Houston to keep on the books.

Nonetheless, if the Texans were to cut him pre-Jun. 1, they would save $5.8 million. But if they give Autry the post-Jun. 1 designation, the Texans would save $8.8 million. Based on those financial figures, the decision has already been made for Ryans and Caserio.

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