Few NFL teams are set up as well as the Houston Texans. After winning the AFC South in DeMeco Ryans’ first year as head coach, the Texans have more than $50 million in effective 2024 cap space, allowing them to build around reigning Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud.
While Houston will explore external options, the team also has one of the largest free agent classes in the league. The Texans have seven players on Pro Football Network’s Top 100 Free Agents list, second-most in the NFL behind the Baltimore Ravens. Which internal FAs will Houston try to re-sign in March?
Who Are the Houston Texans’ 2024 Free Agents?
EDGE Jonathan Greenard
After missing 12 games with injuries from 2021 to 2022, Greenard put up a career-high 12.5 sacks and 22 QB hits for the Texans this past season. A 2020 third-round pick, Greenard ranked sixth in pass-rush win rate (22%), finishing in the same range as elite defensive ends like Haason Reddick and Huff.
Greenard is a legitimate candidate for the franchise tag, which would cost Houston over $23 million next year. While the club has the financial wherewithal to consider a long-term extension, it can leverage a potential franchise tender as a negotiating tool.
The Texans blitzed at the NFL’s fifth-lowest rate (21%) in 2023, indicating Ryans wants his front four to get pressure without extra rushers having to chip in. Retaining Greenard to play opposite Will Anderson Jr., who won Defensive Rookie of the Year after posting seven sacks and 20 QB hits, would represent an excellent start.
TE Dalton Schultz
Schultz played on the franchise tag with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 before settling for a one-year, $6.25 million deal with the Texans last season.
His first season in Houston looked a lot like his final campaign in Dallas. Schultz finished 11th among TEs in receptions (59), 12th in receiving yards (635), and 16th in target share (14.2%).
MORE: 2024 NFL Free Agents by Position
He won’t turn 28 until July and can serve in a three-down tight end role, and the absence of available free agent TEs will assist Schultz’s stock. While Noah Fant, Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, Gerald Everett, and others can play a role, none offer Schultz’s floor and ceiling combination.
If the Texans feel Schultz was integral to their offense alongside Nico Collins and Tank Dell, they might explore a multi-year pact. But if Houston wants to focus its free agent money on defenders and Schultz receives interest from around the league, the Texans could look for a cheaper option to pair with holdover TE Brevin Jordan.
RB Devin Singletary
Something has to change in Houston’s backfield after the Texans ranked 26th in rushing EPA per play, 27th in rushing success rate, and 28th in yards per attempt.
Dameon Pierce was more of an issue than Singletary, who took over as Houston’s starter in Week 8 and ultimately posted a career-high 898 rushing yards. He handled 20 rushing attempts four times after doing so in only five games during his four-year stint with the Buffalo Bills.
Singletary shouldn’t be expensive to re-sign, but the Texans might have other plans. Houston could have its choice of options in a deep free RB class scheduled to include Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler, and others. Singletary is a solid back, but he may forgotten among this group.
CB Steven Nelson
Although Nelson might not be a star, he’s rarely injured, has an incredible football IQ, and has spent time with a litany of winning teams. Another two-year pact in the $10 million range should be on the table, and a return to Houston might be in the cards, given that the Texans don’t have another obvious candidate to play alongside Derek Stingley Jr.
Nelson ranked seventh on PFN’s list of 2024’s free agent cornerbacks. But two CBs ahead of him — the Chicago Bears’ Jaylon Johnson and the Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed — could be franchised, leaving Nelson as a viable option in a weak free agent class.
DT Sheldon Rankins
Rankins looked more like his old self with the Texans this past season than he did with the Jets from 2021 to 2022. The former first-round pick was outstanding against the run and showed off more moves as a pass rusher, collecting the second-most quarterback hits of his career.
MORE: Houston Texans Depth Chart
Rankins will turn 30 in April, so it might be wise for Houston to let him walk. There will be DT upgrades available in free agency if GM Nick Caserio wants to focus the club’s offseason assets in that direction, with options such as Chris Jones, Christian Wilkins, Justin Madubuike, and Leonard Williams potentially available on the open market.
Other Texans 2024 Free Agents
- RB Dare Ogunbowale
- WR Noah Brown
- WR Steven Sims (restricted free agent)
- TE Eric Saubert
- OT Charlie Heck
- OT Josh Jones
- OL Michael Deiter
- C Scott Quessenberry
- EDGE Jerry Hughes
- EDGE Derek Barnett
- DT Khalil Davis (RFA)
- DT Hassan Ridgeway
- DT Teair Tart
- LB Blake Cashman
- LB Neville Hewitt
- LB Denzel Perryman
- CB Kris Boyd
- CB Desmond King
- CB D’Angelo Ross (RFA)
- CB Tavierre Thomas
- S Adrian Amos
- S Grayland Arnold (RFA)
- S DeAndre Houston-Carson
- S Kareem Jackson
- S Eric Murray
- K Ka’imi Fairbairn
- P Cameron Johnston
Miss football? The 2024 NFL Draft is almost here, boss. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!
