2015 Salary Cap Considerations

[Keith]

The 2015 cap is currently projected in the neighborhood of $140 million, though the NFLPA seems to think that is a rather conservative estimate. So the Texans ought to have at least $10+ million in cap space as it stands to sign picks and FAs, but they'll need a little more room to at least retain all their current players they want to keep. So, expect a couple moves ahead.

Here are the player situations worth monitoring of guys currently under contract for 2015:

Johnathan Joseph - $8.5M base, entering final year of 5-yr contract. $12.25 on the cap. Something's gotta happen here. Will be 31 when the season starts. Probably not a bad idea to talk to him about an extension. Would provide huge cap relief, and JJo still provides value on gameday.

Andre Johnson - $10.5M base, has two years left on his contract. $16.1 million on the cap. Pay cut is coming. Will be 34 when the season starts. I expect he will be back in 2015.

Arian Foster - $6M base, has two years left. $9M on the cap. Will be 29. I doubt anything changes with his contract before 2016.

Chris Myers - $6M base, entering final year of 4-yr contract. $8M on the cap. Will be 34. Severely doubt he'd be cut. Getting long in the tooth for an extension, too. Maybe the Texans will let him play out his contract. If they're hurting for cap room though, this is an interesting spot for an extension to restructure.

Brian Cushing - $4M base. Has 5 more seasons on his contract. Not going anywhere. Move along.

Garrett Graham - $3M base. Two years left on 3-yr contract. Would save $1.5M if he were to be cut, a definite possibility. Graham didn't see the field much in 2014, and I just think he is not a great fit for this offense even when healthy. Wonder if he could garner a late draft pick from the Ravens.

Ryan Fitzpatrick - $3.25M base. Entering last year of 2-yr deal. Would save the amount of the base on the cap if cut. If Mallett is re-signed, Fitzy is probably gone at some point.

Shane Lechler - $1.75M base. Entering last year of 3-yr deal. Expect no change for 2015.

Whitney Mercilus - $1.43M base. Playing final year of rookie contract in 2015. Might consider extending him just to keep from letting an improving former 1st round pick from hitting the market, especially if Brooks Reed leaves after Mario Williams and Connor Barwin. With Clowney rehab likely not ending before the start of the season, worth watching.

DeAndre Hopkins - Only $2.08M against the cap and under his rookie contract thru 2016 season. Nothing happening for awhile here.

Jared Crick - Entering final season of rookie contract. $758k cap hit. Played well late, took advantage of having DPOY J.J. Watt on the line. I'm not sure how much higher his ceiling is, so let him play out the contract then evaluate.

Brandon Brooks - Entering final season of rookie contract. $857k cap hit. Let him play out his final season then evaluate.

Duane Brown - $9.5M cap figure. Not going anywhere, no change.

Key free agents:
Ryan Mallett - Gotta bring him back at this point. Maybe he plays for a 2- or 3-yr deal along what Fitzy was paid last year? Hopefully in that neighborhood. Can't imagine another team offering him that much, but other teams' evals on the weak 2015 QB draft class could pique interest if Texans let him test free agency.

Kareem Jackson - I've never been a big fan, but his improvement of late makes him worth keeping. I just hope Smith keeps from over-paying him, but I'm sure he will.

Derek Newton - Shocked at his improvement in 2014, albeit in a contract year. Hope he stays. It is a luxury for a young QB, whether it is Mallett, Savage, or ???, to have good tackles like Duane Brown and Newton.

Brooks Reed - If someone else wants to pay him, so be it.

Kendrick Lewis - Quietly solid all season for the secondary. Played under a 1-yr deal, a good gamble on himself. Will be 27. Worth a multi-year deal to bring him back. Just hope the market isn't bonkers for safeties. If it is, the team's pro scouting department has my trust finding someone comparable.

Ryan Pickett - Heck, I'd bring him back for another 1-yr vet min deal if he's game.

Danieal Manning, Akeem Dent, Tim Jamison, plus all of the other RFAs and ERFAs... would have them back and fight for a roster spot.

[nunusguy]

I always thought Myers was part of the reason they drafed the X-man since he could play guard so Ben Jones could be moved to center, his natural and college position. Can't keep everybody and IMO keeping Newt & Brooks is more important for the OLine.

[Nconroe]

And I think Brooks Reed did pretty good this year as well as can play both inside and outside.

[Nconroe]

Current cap calculation shown here
http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/houston-texans/

Shows currently Texans at about 130 m, so if new cap set at 143 Texans have 13 mil or so without cutting anyone.

One thing shows is that this year, JJ is a 21 mil hit which goes down to 12 mil next year, so that helps explain why the cap space is what it is.

And does seem like Andre is going to have to help Texans out atleast some on the cap hit side, he still has a high number for next three years for now.

And Cushing, well, if healthy ok, otherwise, ....

[WMH]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

Current cap calculation shown here
http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/houston-texans/


And does seem like Andre is going to have to help Texans out atleast some on the cap hit side, he still has a high number for next three years for now.

Actually, it appears that Dre has played his last game as a Texan. All good things must come to an end. Hope he latches on to a winner. Will always be a Texan in my eyes.

http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans...traded-or-cut/

[chuck]

I don’t know how you tell a guy who catches 85 balls that he’ll only probably catch 40. I feel like the role they were trying to put me in I’d be held back from maximizing my talents.

I don’t get how you can tell a guy that (he) wouldn’t start certain games, especially knowing the team and the talent.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t be a starter in this league. It didn’t make sense to me. I’m pretty sure it won’t make sense to a lot of other people.

I don't necessarily believe that this is exactly how it went down. It might have been, Hey, Dre, you need to take a serious pay cut. And he might have said FU wrinkle chin. And that would be fine.

But if this team actually told him that he would be expected to catch 40 passes next year and not start? Man, these guys have outdone themselves in radical stupidity. What, CJ Fed is going to nab all those balls that used to go to Andre? Demaris Johnson? Maybe they're counting on Posey to have a big year.

I certainly hope they've told Arian that he'll get ten or twelve carries a game next year. IF he starts.

I understand that Andre was overpaid, but that's how it goes. If any of the above is true, well, this team's perennial lack of success is well deserved and unlikely to change, ever.

The team gets zero production from an entire draft and the next year instead of fire the GM they dismiss the single greatest player in franchise history. Amazing.