Intense focus for Texans on ‘constructive dialogue’ with their own free agents in a likely expensive balancing act

INDIANAPOLIS – Nick Caserio is adept at compartmentalizing, juggling multiple ultra-detailed tasks with so much coming across his desk in his job as the Texans’ general manager.

One of the busiest times of the year for Caserio and his colleagues across the NFL is the scouting combine, which is primarily utilized as a key evaluation time for incoming draft prospects. This is also a time that sets the table for free agency where the defending AFC South champion Texans have emerged as a popular destination goal because of the success of a returning playoff team, the presence of outstanding quarterback C.J. Stroud and having a projected $67.4 million in salary cap space.

As much as the Texans have the financial flexibility to be a major player in the free agent marketplace, they’re intensely focused on trying to retain as many of their own top free agents. It’s an expensive balancing act for Caserio and the Texans as they manage multiple negotiations simultaneously. That includes conversations with and, in some cases, active contract discussions with several players, including defensive end Jonathan Greenard, cornerback Steven Nelson, running back Devin ‘Motor’ Singletary, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, linebacker Blake Cashman, tight end Dalton Schultz and punter Cameron Johnston.

“The focus right now is on our free agents,” Caserio said. “We’re working through the process with them. We have as many free agents as any team in the league, so we’ve had a lot of dialogue, constructive dialogue with a number of representatives and free agents. Right now, we’ll focus on the players who are free agents and then once we get through free agency and get a little deeper into the spring, we’ll kind of see where we are relative to what our opportunities bring. You’ve all seen our openness to propensity to have discussions at any point, spring, training camp, during the season, midseason, after the season so we’ll see how it all goes.”

In the wake of an 11-8 season that included a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns before falling in the divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens, the Texans have a lot of decisions to make as they seek to bolster their roster around Stroud, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Texans have a lot of work to do on their roster while weighing the value of their own players versus the players that they could land from other NFL teams.

Although the Texans have a lot of cap and cash at their disposal, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Caserio is planning a spending spree. The Texans plan to allocate some of their salary-cap space and financial commitments toward the future, including an expressed goal mutually shared to extend wide receiver Nico Collins.

“We have some flexibility relative to financial commitments that we might be able to make, but you don’t necessarily have to use all your money up in one year,” Caserio said. “You really look at your team in sort of two-year increments, so whatever you don’t do this year, that money is going to be used in future years.

“I’m sure I’ll get a question here very soon about Nico Collins. That’s coming. That could be a player that maybe he’s a par of the future. You’re focused on the short term, but part of our responsibility is to kind of think ahead a little bit and just try to make good sound decisions for the team and the organization. Every year is important. Every year is different.”

The Texans’ goal is to build a sustainable competitive football team that’s capable of winning championships.

Having Stroud under his current rookie deal does allow for some ability to be selective on big spending items while managing the salary cap.

The Texans’ top free agent is veteran defensive end Jonathan Greenard, who recorded a career-high 12 1/2 sacks last season as he displayed explosive pass rushing skills. The Texans are engaged in discussions with Greenard, and there’s strong mutual interest in a potential contract extension, per league sources. However, those sources cautioned that Greenard’s value at a premium position could override that desire to keep working together. It’s an extremely fluid situation that’s being monitored across the league.

“JG had as good of a year as he’s had since he’s been in the league,” Caserio said. “I think the thing with JG is just being available, taking advantage of the opportunities as you’ll see he’ll do that and he had a lot of disruptive plays so he’s a good young player we’ll work through the process with those players and see where we are heading into a few weeks from now.”

Cashman, a former special teams standout acquired in a trade from the New York Jets, became the Texans’ leading tackler and was the defensive signal caller last season in a career breakthrough season. Cashman told KPRC 2 at the close of the season he wants to stay with the Texans, but emphasized that’s not up to him.

Cashman is expected to have a healthy market if he leaves the Texans. It’s not regarded as a lock that he’ll return and the Texans may explore a free agent market with an eye toward hard-hitting Tennessee Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who’s interested in the Texans, per sources, after playing for coach DeMeco Ryans with the San Francisco 49ers.

“I think Cash’s role has kind of grown sort of incrementally each year,” Caserio said. “We traded for him with the idea that he would have an impact in the kicking game, which he has. I think when he’s had the opportunity to play in the defense, I mean he led us in tackles this year, which I’m sure nobody had in their bingo card. Cash has done a lot of great things for us. We’ll work through the process. If we have the opportunity to bring him back, I think he’ll have a good role on the team.”

Nelson recorded a career-high five interceptions, including returning one 82 yards for a touchdown in the playoff win over the Browns. Nelson turned 31 in January and played through injuries last season to appear in every game. As a proven defensive back who has started for the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles Nelson is expected to have a good market. It’s unclear if the Texans and Nelson will agree on terms, but those conversations are just getting started.

Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. excelled after returning from a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve and was named a Pro Bowl alternate.

“Steve had a great year, lot of respect for the way Steve handled himself and the way he played this year,” Caserio said. “Similar to a lot of other players we’ll work through the process there. There are a lot of good players who are out there in free agency, including some of our players we’re going to have somebody playing opposite Stingley so we’ll kind of work through it here in the next few weeks to see where we end up.”

When Texans running back Dameon Pierce regressed in his second NFL season after shining as a rookie, the Texans turned to Singletary as their primary runner. Singletary led the Texans with 898 rushing yards and four touchdown runs. He also caught 30 passes for 193 yards and had a career-high 150 rushing yards in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. There is mutual interest between the Texans and Singletary for him to return. The Texans love his consistency and how he reads the holes to maximize yardage.

“I remember sitting in a free-agent visit with Devin, and just, man, his personality, his demeanor, it was a guy I knew I wanted to work with right away,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Devin is made of the right stuff. He’s a hard worker. He’s a leader. He shows up every day in practice with a great attitude, and the guys around him feed off of that.”

“Devin is a great guy. We’ll see what happens in free agency, but we’d love to have Devin back just because of what he brought to our team. He was definitely a bright spot for us in that running back room.”

The Texans are also expected to explore additional running back options and there are scenarios where they sign more than one running back. The headliner of the running back free agent class is New York Giants star Saquon Barkley, who has targeted the Texans as his top potential destination and has been communicating with Stroud, per league sources. Barkley could, of course, remain with the Giants potentially as general manager Joe Schoen is holding talks with the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year’s agent, Edward Berry, of Creative Artists Agency.

“What do I think is going to happen?” Caserio said. “We’re all going to find out. Free agency, it’s what does the market tell you? And then any player, what are you willing to pay that player commensurate with their role? Every year markets change, and I think sometimes what happens is I’d say with some of the tender numbers, you sort of get pigeonholed or benchmarked because once you establish a certain financial commitment level, it’s almost used as a starting point, so you’re either comfortable paying him that level or you’re not, and it’s all about resource allocation.

“Our job is to try to find good football players and add good players to our team. We have a couple free agents at that position, so we’re going to evaluate that position like we do other positions, as well. Motor had a great year, did a lot of great things for us. ‘Motor’ is a free agent. We’ll see how it goes. There’s a lot of good players that are out there. There’s a lot of good players that are out there at a number of different positions, and our job is to evaluate, try to make good decisions.”

The Texans and Schultz want to keep working together. The Texans haven’t used the franchise tag during Caserio’s tenure. If they did, Schultz would be a good candidate for the tag, which is just $11.3 million.

Schultz is a reliable downfield target for Stroud. He caught 59 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns on 88 targets last season after leaving the Dallas Cowboys to sign a one-year deal with the Texans.

“It has to be a part of your calculus, it’s really a fixed number,” Caserio said. “Anytime you assign a tag to a player, it’s essentially, you’re committed to that value. Now, it doesn’t mean you can’t work out a long-term contract extension with that player, but it’s sort of a fixed number. It’s almost a starting point in a negotiation.

“So, you have to figure out is that valuable, does that make sense, or let the player get to the open market, let the market dictate what the value is. Honestly, it’s a little cat-and-mouse game, so you just try to take the information in, have a general understanding of the market and try to make a good decision.”

Fairbairn, ideally, will be back under a new deal, but it won’t be inexpensive. He has led the NFL in field goal percentage the past two seasons. His four-year, $17.65 million contract is expiring. The Texans definitely want Fairbairn back and are working on trying to get him extended, per league sources. Johnston is a free agent the Texans would like to retain, but they’re also evaluating several college punters and keeping their options open, as is Johnston.

“I’ve always been a believer that you have to know your team better than any other team and any other player that’s out there,” Caserio said. “So, we have the most information available on our players. From what happens on the field to their performance data to their health. We have an idea of what their role is and how they fit the system. When you’re dealing with players outside the building sometimes that are unknown it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t fit what we’re doing but you’re trying to benchmark said player. Is this player similar? Does he have the same role? Is he better in this area? Are you going to get a little bit less?

“What’s the cost associated with this player? So this is really what free agency is about. I think every team approaches free agency differently. I think we’re pretty committed to understanding number one our players first. What are options? Is that the best option? Is there a better alternative? And then, what’s the player’s role? What’s the value with that role commiserate what we think they’re going to provide our team. And then try to work within those parameters.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com