SetfreexX

Outside of Darnold last off-season was pretty solid. The OL signings flopped, but there wasn't a good class. Seems more like they banked on trait, and former draft status and failed. However Reddick, and Fox helped the defense, the Perryman signing was good but cutting him wasn't. Dan Arnold was good but Tremble was better than expected and they turned him for Henderson. Getting a shot at Gilmore for a future late wasn't bad either. Its just Darnold was SOOOOOO BAD, then mismanaging Cam again.

To be clear I do believe he was employed the last two seasons, most recently with Dallas as a offensive consultant or something to that effect. I think the point is he should be better than Brady, and Matt's former roommate.

Dead cap hit on Ryan is 40M.

NO ONE WAS GOING TO SUCCEED WITH US COMING IN MID-YEAR...the fact the narrative around that is as though Cam came in and just sucked irritates me. Anyone who watched a game without an agenda, or bias could see his presence actually led to scoring points on offense. he damn near surpassed Darnold's season in those handful of games with the same poo OL, and dealing with Rhule's college roomamte as his OC after the damn OC was fired. Who is coming in with no familiarity with the receivers aside from DJ, no familiarity with the offense, verbiage, concepts, etc. and willing this team to wins. Cam is a better option than Minshew, and whoever else is left out there given an off-season.

Hell of a time from the momnet we all heard he chose CLE over everyone else, since then there have been a flurry of transactions...let's take a look at where we are. Offense: QB - Darnold / Walker -- It hurt just typing that, from Fitterer saying it'd be an ''open'' QB competition at the combine this off-season, trying to trade for Watson, to whatever is next this is obviously a glaring gap on the roster. Put me in the Cam + Willis train, Cam brings fans, fans create energy, energy helps bolster a home field. I don't think there's much out there in the way of a Minshew trade (he's not a long term answer so why trade), maybe Mariotta -- but if you go that route IMO all things considered Cam can lead the locker room. There's no one else on this roster or in FA better suited to do so, full off-season and a much improved OL and I think we can trend in the correct direction while having a successor in place. Backs - CMC / Hubbard / Formen / Ricci -- Speaking of hurt, I'm sure we'd all appreciate a healthy 22' season for 22. I'm not so much down on Hubbard as the forced playing time really showed the gaps in his game, in particular his receiving ability / consistency and his balance. I have never seen a guy with green ahead of him fall over and stumble for apparently no reason, hopefully he puts it together a bit more as I think he showed good vision. Foreman is something we've missed since Stewart, 230+ with enough speed to pop off chunks through contact, I'm pretty happy about this signing. I don't think Ricci is the answer, I think we see a more true FB added at some point. WR - Moore / Robbie / TMJ / Higgins / Smith / Zylstra -- Moore is what he is production, he's proven that and earned his extension, he only gets better with an upgrade at QB. I feel the worst for Robbie because he had gone 900 2x in a row, then over 1K with Teddy to just falling off the map with Darnold; did he have some bad moments...sure, but I think a QB change helps him return to form versus being thrown ''hospital balls'' as Smitty said. TMJ was limited with injuries, as was Shi, Zylstra is a competent depth piece with size, and Higgins is a good 3rd / 4th option. Ultimately I think we try to add another vertical threat so I'll be looking at Day 3 of the draft for a flier on a burner. TE - Thomas / Tremble -- All I can say is this group is ''untapped'' potential, both athletic, both can run and block with seemingly good hands when targeted. McAdoo is likely to get them both more involved in the offense, for two years we all saw this as a weakness in the Joe Brady led offense. OL - Christensen / TBD / Bozeman / Corbett / Moton -- Holy hell, what a far cry from the poo show we fielded last year in some some areas, while LG, and to a degree LT remain open I think most fans are relatively high on Brady at LT, though we still need depth there. With rumors surrounding Duane Brown, he'd be a great starter while BC continues his growth, or potentially slides inside to LG. Bozeman, Corbett, and Moton are all legitimate at their respective positions and allow guys like Elflein to assume a support role versus that of a starter. IOL depth is still an issue. _____________________________________________________ Defense: DL - Burns / Ioannidis / Brown / YGM -- This is a pretty damn good front 4, Burns, Io, and Brown can all attract double teams given the situation, so that leaves YGM in a position to see a good amount of 1v1's in the pass rush game. We need to see his growth this season; meanwhile Haynes a guy that's show he can get there should also see more playing time and benefit from this. I'd also throw Nixon into this category as well, he flashed a lot last season. LB - Shaq / Littleton / Wilson / Luvu - The recent LB'er acquisitions to me kind of signal a trend back towards a 4-3 front vs base offensive personnel, though guys like Burns, Haynes, Luvu all have the ability to stand up on the edges. Littleton in 18 & 19' had 259 tackles (7.5 sacks), in 20' & 21' 180 tackles (.5 sacks), that is a considerable drop in production whether scheme, or surrounding personnel based we need to hope he regains the form he displayed with LA. Perhaps partnering with a collegiate teammate in Shaq assists with that. Wilson is coming off of his first 100+ tackle year and also boasts 3 sacks, and an INT. I think we've done a good job establishing off ball LB depth, and solidifying that group. Corner - Horn / Jackson / Henderson -- I think that is as good a young trio as is out there, Horn forecasts as a true #1, and Henderson shares the same physical comp though a little slimmer than Horn. With Henderson and Jackson you have two guys that can play inside out in coverage, also many may have forgot, but Horn also spent a lot of time covering from the nickel spot, a good example is game 1 versus NO. Taylor, Pride off IR, and STO provide solid depth as well. I know many wanted Gilmore back, but his salary demands equal the pay of two players, and when you have Horn returning paying him doesn't make a lot of sense financially. Safety - Chinn / Woods / Robinson / Carter / Hartsfield -- Dare I say we finally have a real duo on the back end? I believe Woods' snaps were around 62% spent at FS in 21', this should allow Chinn to spend more time in the box & not necessarily as a LB'er. Having a true FS, and the addition of Littleton could also lead to some ''Big'' Nickel looks with Chinn in the slot. This is something we haven't had since Chinn has been here, he was forced to play LB'er a good bit as a rookie, and since he was the best option, he was forced to play more centerfield last season. With LB depth established, and Woods, we'll finally see him at his natural SS position. I also think this will free up more pressure packages. As far as depth I think it can still be improved. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Special Teams: K / P - Gonzalez, and Hekker....need I say more, we are in a good spot. LS - JJ and Fletcher, I think JJ wins again. Returner - TBH this is still in the air I think, Shi maybe?

Pretty sure his cap hit was even larger last off-season, and they had JUST unloaded Julio. You can't do BOTH in the same off-season as it would have destroyed their cap. There also have to be takers....he's not Brady.

No they wouldn't bc Rodgers is still better.

So what veteran you want....or you wanna run it back with Darnold. No ones saying give him a long deal, but a 2 year deal to have room to sit a rookie is smart. There's no better vet available that people will rally towards. He's the perfect option to bridge.

Pretty sure it was for the same deal. WAS just didn't offer until BUF did.

He may have started that way, but I think the market is humbling him a bit, to be fair, there are a lot of corners sitting they may be waiting on Gilmore's deal to possibly establish the market. I can't think of any marquee corners signed off the top of my head, though there have been ''some'' signings in what feels like the middle tier.

With the ''trade'' business out of the way the focus has shifted back to FA, as we round up some of the moves / current roster, we are starting to look like we're in better shape than last year with the exclusion of a proven edge rusher opposite Burns. The plan could be to see YGM's role increase with Haynes being rotational as he has been, though I'd still like to see a veteran addition. ___________________________________________________________________________________ EDGE - Burns / Haynes -- We need to add depth here vet FA's availabe -- Clowney / Ingram / Hughes DL - Brown / Ioannidis / YGM -- I like our depth here with Roy / Nixon / Haskins -- the three referenced above can pay the Nickel / 4-3 DE positions opposite Burns ILB - Shaq / Luvu / Wilson / Chinn on passing downs, and in some base sets -- depth is still a bit of concern here, but off ball LB'er is general cheap in relation to depth CB - Horn / Henderson / Taylor -- I could see us adding Jackson back, he's a niche corner and had that role here as the move piece to match the smaller quicker WRs S - Chinn / Woods / Tre' Boston's mystery FA -- Hartsfield / Robinson are nice depth -- I honestly wonder if Chandler and Franklin make the roster this year

Ioannidis signing

So this may be more exact, I found this after my post; none the less, we have a good amount of cap to address needs, considerably more than last off-season with a lot of talent still out there.

So far as I can tell Spotrac is yet to be updated as we still show the following: Cap Space (w/All) $21,852,673 Cap Space (w/Top 51) $28,437,673 Robbie's restructure freed up roughly -- 5.8M Math leads us to an estimate of (and I'm rounding down here) -- 28.4M + 5.8M = (34.2M w/ Top 51 -- 27M'ish w/ All) Either way that is a considerable amount of cap to work with, outside of QB immediate areas of need would seem to be: Edge IOL IDL CB I could see good money being invested at the IOL positions as I believe we are looking at Brady as a viable young LT, I'm not against adding a proven ''quality'' veteran at LT either; I just think it's a little lower on the list versus the interior. If we plan to have a true power / more vertical run game IOL is where we need to see improvement. Available FA's: Bozeman / Tretter -- I like both of these options as to me Elflein is a fringe starter at G, and is slightly better at C where he is currently forecast. I like the idea of upgrading C, and giving Deonte Brown a look at LG where he spent a good amount of his time at ALA. There's not a lot behind Brian Burns on the edge, YGM, and Haynes have flashed, and have shown potential, though having a veteran as a part of the rotation I think could do us some good. There are some veterans out there who could probably get you 5-9 sacks, add that to the YGM, and Haynes rotation and you can replace Reddick's production while creating valuable depth to get through 17 games. Available FA's: Clowney / Ingram / Hughes / Houston / Carter -- these are all middle tier veterans that shouldn't have to high of price tags, but should be able to pair well opposite Burns, they can all play in a 2, or 3 point stance considering we have a more hybrid front versus a traditional 4-3 or 3-4 The interior DL could also use a veteran presence - Brown / Roy / Nixon / Hoskins, are all 3 years or less NFL experience, we could use a 3T to pair on the inside with Brown for more push on pass downs and maybe that's Nixon, but I think we could use an upgrade behind Brown. Available FA's: Ioannidis / Hicks / Richardson -- Ioannidis is probably my preference over anyone else in this group, considering his experience in multiple fronts, it would forecast to be a good fit, and a premium upgrade over Fox. Hicks, and Richardson would be nice supplemental options. The cornerback room to me even with the loss of Gilmore, and Jackson is still in really good shape. Horn has the potential to become a top tier corner in this league, and Henderson is as athletic as they come but also has the size (6'1'') to play big WR's as well. Taylor, Pride off the ACL in PS, Hartsfield, and STO are all nice depth, but just like the other positions could stand to add a veteran presence. This group combined with the return of Steve Wilks has me honestly excited to see what they can become. Available FA's: Jackson / King -- I think it makes sense for us to bring DJ back, his stature will likely limit his market, and with our available space we could make it work. King is coming off injury, and has the size / athleticism this staff covets. After these two I'm not overly impressed with the available FA's and Gilmore seems as good as gone.

I would rather see us add IOL upgrades, I personally like what I saw from Brady at LT. I think he only gets better with more opportunity and more consistent OL play. I think the ship has sailed on trading for a QB, trading for a lesser QB than what we targeted last year landed us Darnold. Let's avoid that mistake. Picks for Jimmy G who couldn't get it done on a STACKED San Francisco roster IS NOT the answer, neither is Baker, and neither is a guy like Minshew.

Ignorance is bliss, context doesn't matter when you live in ignorance.

Ryan has a NTC if memory serves. EDIT: NTC confirmed

Will not make my Madden 23 Franchise roster lol

I'm just dealing with the surface numbers. This was designed to provide a summary and the 35M is what is referenced in most reports so I kept my thoughts tied to that amount. If you're referring to OTC as I used Spotrac -- the 16.2M is the dead money, and the 24M is the cap savings. If the trade is made and designated as a ''post'' June 1st trade -- the 5.4M is the dead money, and the 35M is the cap savings. So we are both right, I'm going off the one that is more so in HOU's favor / reported on the most that I have seen at least -- ie: the one with less dead money for HOU and most beneficial to them cap wise** https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/houston-texans/

They do this by restructuring contracts, and turning the base value for the current season into a signing bonus which is prorated over the life of the contract, even across ''voidable'' years. By doing so they can lower the cost of a player on the current seasons cap, and using the basic fact that the salary cap will increase each year they're able to continue this trend of ''over the cap, then back under the cap''. There's been some times where it's limited them as every so often the money catches up, but when you have likely a HOF coach, and QB, you can generally get away with it. We saw an example of it catching up to them with Armstead hitting free agency.

Deshaun Watson QB $35,000,000 $5,400,000 https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/cap/ The 35M is his BASE salary, the part that HOU ''is not'' responsible for in a trade -- CAR / ATL / CLE / NO would pay that. They are on the hook for guaranteed money owed - the 5.4M Obviously things like salary / who pays what can ALSO be negotiated -- see the Teddy trade to DEN as a recent example.

Thank you.

I would like to see Deonte Brown at LG -- I'm not against the above, but I liked what I saw out of him in the time he played. He MOVED the LOS at his spot, and seemed to hold up well versus the pass. Was a starter at LG for ALA, so the familiarity is there, as I am also interested to see what Brady can do in a full season at LT. I would prefer a trade back inside the top 15, and acquire a future 1st, and day 2 picks for this year to add more depth in other areas, and still have the chance to select a QB with a better all around roster.

I never said it could not be done, I was pointing out that it ''has not'' been done, and signing Maye wasn't a catalyst for it to have been done.

Marcus Maye FS - - - - - - - - - 0.00 I go by what the site says my guy, his values on that deal are not out yet, and a 3yr / 28.5M deal does not mean ''30M'' in cap was created. 15M guaranteed over 3 years is 5M prorated over the life of the contract meaning at minimum he'd count as 5M this year + what ever the base salary is. There is also a possibility of void years after those three to lower the cap hit even more. None of that points to ''30M'' in cap being created.