The Houston Texans are going into the third training camp under DeMeco Ryans. They haven't been able to get over the hump in the divisional round and are looking to do that in 2025.
They have built a great foundation of players on the team, but every year, the team will make tweaks to better its chances. While the attention is on the 2025 season, looking down and you can see Denico Autry being elsewhere in 2026.
Denico Autry Is Likely Entering His Last Preseason with Texans
Autry signed a two-year deal with the Texans in 2024 and signed with a reworked deal ahead of the 2025 season. That revision in the deal added two void years to the backend of the contract for cap purposes.
Despite that, Autry's time with Houston will likely come to an end. Last season, he served a six-game suspension for a performance-enhancing drug policy violation. He returned for 10 games but wasn't that productive in those outings.
He had 13 total tackles, three TFLs, three sacks, and three pass deflections. According to PFF, he had a 56 overall grade (140th among 211 graded defensive linemen), 61 pass rush grade (95th among 211 graded defensive linemen), and a 53.8 run-defense grade (160th among 211 graded defensive linemen).
In addition to his disappointing season, he started training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list due to a knee injury. That hindered him throughout the last season, and Houston wants to take a precautionary approach.
While the Texans still plan for him to be a rotational piece of the offensive line this upcoming season, he's 35 years old. He gives them a nice depth piece along the defensive front, but with him hitting free agency in the spring, the Texans will likely let him walk.
Last season was a massive step back for the Mississippi State product, and if he fails to bounce back, his time will be ticking in H-Town. The fact that he's missing time in training camp isn't ideal. He still needs time to ramp up and get his body ready for the physical nature of the regular season.
If not, he'll start off slow and will give fans a flashback of his lackluster season in 2024. Regardless, it looks like Autry will not be in the Texans' plans past this campaign.