When the Houston Texans signed defensive lineman Denico Autry in free agency last year, they were expecting him to be a significant contributor in the trenches.
Instead, Autry served a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy to begin the 2024 campaign, and upon returning, he was largely ineffective, logging just 13 tackles and three sacks in 10 games.
The Texans had initially signed Autry to a two-year, $20 million contract, so the general consensus was that Houston would cut the 34-year-old this offseason. However, it's looking like the Texans may go in a different direction.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 has reported that instead of outright releasing Autry, Houston may simply rework his deal in order to open up some more cap space.
The Texans have been very busy this offseason, making numerous moves in free agency and swinging a couple of big trades, the most prominent of which consisted of them sending star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders.
Houston had a very rough financial situation heading into the offseason, so a consequential part of what the club has been doing has revolved around shaving cap room.
The Texans have already restructured the contracts of Nico Collins and Azeez Al-Shaair, and apparently, Autry could be next.
Autry had spent the previous three seasons with the Tennessee Titans and was a force along their defensive front, having racked up 50 tackles and 11.5 sacks during his final year with the club.
We'll see if the Mississippi State product can bounce back in 2025.
Texans' Free Agency Moves Present One Major Takeaway
The Houston Texans have made a collection of moves on both sides of the football this offseason, but the biggest adjustments within the team's roster simply come down to the offensive line.
Following eye-catching moves such as shipping out All-Pro-caliber tackle Laremy Tunsil and former first-round guard Kenyon Green, along with cutting veteran guard Shaq Mason, the Texans unit upfront is primed to look significantly different for the 2025 campaign.
However, with those changes have also come questions, and coming after a year where the Texans saw major steps back around their protection, it's fair to wonder whether the front office has made the right steps in ensuring this team will be sound in the trenches for 2025.
In the eyes of CBS Sports analyst Garrett Podell, Houston's big switches on the offensive line hint towards one key takeaway: the Texans' immense trust for new offensive coordinator Nick Caley to right the ship.
"One could argue the Texans downgraded their offensive line personnel a year after allowing the ninth-highest quarterback pressure rate (36.7%) in the league, which definitely played a key factor in quarterback C.J. Stroud's sophomore slide. Houston did fire offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and hired another disciple of the Shanhan-McVay tree to succeed him in Rams pass game coordinator Nick Caley. The Texans better prioritize their offensive line in the draft. Otherwise, they're banking purely on going from Slowik to Caley at offensive coordinator being the primary driver for change in a positive direction along their offensive front."
The personnel holding down the fort will inevitably carry a large responsibility in furnishing the necessary improvements upfront, but a large chunk of finding those upgrades may have to come from the coaching side amid Caley's hiring.
A big reason to attribute to Houston's offensive struggles last season was the lackluster consistency on the offensive line, which led to a domino effect of once-promising coordinator Bobby Slowik being out of the coaching mix for the Texans after two seasons, turning into Caley becoming the man for the job from the Los Angeles Rams.
It'll be a difficult situation for Caley to endure in year one to immediately get things right for C.J. Stroud and his protection, especially now that three Week One starters from last season are out of the picture. Changes have since been made to counter those losses with the additions of names like Laken Tomlinson and Ed Ingram, but it remains to be seen if it'll be enough to point things in the right direction.
Yet, with a successful draft and perhaps more free agency acquisitions to come, there could be more improvements to face the roster before the 2025 campaign officially kicks off.
