Three offseason moves the Texans must make

The Houston Texans’ surprise ascension from a team picking near the top of the draft to AFC South champion in just one season was a testament to the offseason work put in by general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans.

With that in mind, here are three more moves the Texans should make this offseason to take a step closer to being a Super Bowl contender.

Sign defensive lineman Calais Campbell

The Texans made several moves to bolster their defense, including signing defensive end Denico Autry, edge-rusher Danielle Hunter and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. But the one position that could still be considered a weakness is defensive tackle.

Sure, Houston signed Tim Settle and Foley Fatukasi, but aside from them, the rest of the group is young and inexperienced. 

The 6-foot-8, 282-pound Campbell is a big-bodied veteran presence with 105.5 career sacks, six Pro Bowls and three All-Pro selections. He played a little more on the inside at defensive tackle last season, and Houston could be the perfect landing spot for him as he wouldn’t be counted on to be the team’s leading sacker.

Trade for Eagles cornerback James Bradberry

Philadelphia spent its first two 2024 draft picks on cornerbacks (Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean), meaning the team could be looking to move on from either Bradberry or Darius Slay. 

If the Eagles were to trade either right now, Bradberry would cost less in dead cap ($3.095 million) than Slay ($9.44M), and both would free up $1.21M in cap space.

Even after drafting Georgia’s Kamari Lassiter with their first pick in the 2024 draft and signing both Jeff Okudah and C.J. Henderson during free agency, cornerback is still an area of need for the Texans. 

Bradberry played 726 snaps in coverage last season, allowing a completion percentage of 60.4 with 12 forced incompletions, nine pass breakups and one interception, per Pro Football Focus. He would be a strong No. 2 CB opposite Derek Stingley Jr.

Trade quarterback Davis Mills

C.J. Stroud is firmly entrenched as Houston’s starter, leaving Mills to toil on the bench with fellow backups Case Keenum and Tim Boyle. Mills is only 25 and he has multiple years of starting experience, so he should be able to fetch at least a mid-round pick in return.

When Stroud went down last season, the Texans turned to Keenum first instead of Mills to take over, proving he’s not even the top backup on his current team. 

The Broncos could be interested in a bridge starter until rookie Bo Nix is ready, or the Raiders and Giants could possibly be interested if their respective starters (Gardner Minshew and Daniel Jones) start to falter.