For some, this game shapes up as audition
When the Texans host Pittsburgh on Monday, it will be the last game at NRG Stadium for a lot of their players and possibly a couple of coaches.
Even if a team is out of the playoffs as the Texans are, the crunch time of December is important.
Players — starters and reserves — want to make a positive impression if they hope to return or if they’re auditioning for jobs with other teams.
Teams as disappointing as the Texans, who could be headed for a 4-12 record, undergo roster upheavals. There’s always a lot of change in personnel, anyway, but the Texans have to improve the offensive line and secondary — not to mention other positions — so many players won’t return in 2018.
Coach Bill O’Brien, who’s nearing the end of his fourth season and says he wants to return for the fifth and final year of his contract, has made changes to his staff after each of his first three seasons. Expect more changes after the last game at Indianapolis on Sunday.
With games remaining against the Steelers and Colts, O’Brien isn’t interested in looking ahead to next season.
“Next year is so far off,” he
When/where: 3:30 p.m. today; NRG Stadium. TV/radio: NBC; 610 AM, 100.3 FM, 101.1 FM (Spanish).
said. “Every year’s completely different from the previous year. Doesn’t matter what players are back, there’ll be new players here next year. There’s a draft. Obviously, there’s free agency.
“Our only focus is on this Pittsburgh game. If we’re not focused on Pittsburgh as an organization and as a team, then we’ve got a problem. We’re not going to be in good shape Christmas Day because they’re a great team.
“So, next year, that’s not even something that’s entered anybody’s mind, especially mine.”
Well, when an injury-depleted team is 4-10, has seven losses in eight games and is destined to get stomped in its last home game, this is a good time to look ahead for the rest of us.
The Texans’ roster will get a huge enhancement with the return of injured players such as quarterback Deshaun Watson, defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who’ll miss a combined 31 games this season.
Contract decisions loom
Watson, Watt and Mercilus are among 18 players, including 10 starters, on injured reserve. That list includes three players who were major contributors: running back D’Onta Foreman, tight end Ryan Griffin and receiver Bruce Ellington.
Griffin and Ellington combined to make 12 starts before they were injured.
The changes on the team will start with free agents. The Texans have 21 players whose contracts are scheduled to expire in March, including 15 who’ll become unrestricted free agents if they haven’t been re-signed.
That list of unrestricted free agents includes five players who’ll start today — cornerback Johnathan Joseph, safety Marcus Gilchrist, quarterback T.J. Yates, left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo and right tackle Breno Giacomini.
Punter Shane Lechler works on one-year contracts, and he’s expected to return for his 19th season.
Joseph is the most intriguing player facing free agency. He’ll be 34 in April and is playing well enough in his 12th season, including his seventh with the Texans, to be re-signed.
The Texans need to improve at cornerback by adding speed, and if they don’t bring back Joseph at a favorable deal for the club, he’ll have to be replaced, too.
Interestingly, Su’a-Filo and Giacomini are the only offensive linemen who have started every game, and both are expected to be gone as the line undergoes a makeover that could include four new starters.
Center Nick Martin, who was placed on injured reserve last week and will miss the last two games, could be the only returning starter next season.
Looking ahead to March, the Texans are projected to be about $55 million under the cap. Even though a portion of that cap space will go for other player expenditures, general manager Rick Smith should have enough to sign three or four significant free agents to improve the roster.
No picks until third round
The Texans don’t have their first- or second-round picks because of trades involving Watson and quarterback Brock Osweiler, but they’ll have three picks in the third round, including one compensatory selection for losing cornerback A.J. Bouye in free agency.
Smith also will have Seattle’s second-round pick in 2019 that could be packaged in a 2018 trade.
Fans and media will have a lot of fun predicting what the Texans will do in the offseason. O’Brien has two games left before he has to worry about it.
Meanwhile, the Texans are trying to avoid getting blown out by Pittsburgh. The last thing they can stomach is another performance like the one in Jacksonville, where they were annihilated 45-7 in their worst defeat under O’Brien.
“We’ve got to play better,” O’Brien said. “It’s not a matter of effort. I looked at it real close. These guys are playing hard. I want them to continue to play hard.
“I want them to continue to be who they are. They’re tough. They’re competitive guys, and they have a lot of pride.”
And many of them will be out of work after the season.