Regardless of what moves the Houston Texans make during the 2022 NFL offseason, they still will be fighting an uphill battle back into relevancy in the AFC South division. Marred with controversy (Deshaun Watson), leadership changes (new HC in Lovie Smith), and a much-maligned roster (Brandin Cooks is the lone big name), this team has a lot of work to do.

David Culley was the team’s one-and-done head coach for the 2021 season, getting more out of his players than many outside of the organization had expected. But with Culley being let go in a very curious way, it now falls on the shoulders of Smith, who is more known for his time leading the Chicago Bears than for his time with Houston.

The ongoing legal situation involving Watson has permanently put a dark cloud over the franchise while it progresses, and it also holds the team’s development back due to the uncertainty of his future in the league. The Texans have way too many moving pieces at this time to even think about fielding a competitive roster, so moving on from high-priced players to usher in their youth is their only logical step ‘forward.’

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Surprising Texans Roster Cut in 2022 Offseason

Marcus Cannon

Left tackle Laremy Tunsil is the best player on the offensive line for the Texans, but injuries shortened his ‘21 season to only five games – and Marcus Cannon didn’t have any better of a year last season either.

Acquired back in March 2021 from the New England Patriots, Cannon was supposed to be the team’s starting right tackle, bookending the OL with Tunsil. But with both Cannon and Tunsil playing a combined nine games and 475 total snaps, that plan hit the fan very quickly.

Almost 34 years old puts Cannon towards the twilight of his career, usually a sign of trouble for a high-priced veteran like he is in regards to roster security. Cannon is entering the final year of his current contract, in which he is slated to have a cap hit of over $5.2 million for the year.

Regardless of whether Cannon is moved before or after June 1st, he will leave the Texans with no long-term financial ramifications, as he would leave no dead cap behind to impact the salary cap sheet.

One of the few things that the Texans have going their way is the fact that their salary cap sheet has more flexibility than a lot of teams in the league heading into the offseason. Sitting at just under $20 million currently in open cap space to utilize, the Texans would not need to move on from Cannon, based on pure financial reasons.

But the youth movement needs to dominate what the Texans do next, and Cannon certainly does not fit into that plan. He certainly could still offer a team some production for the next one or two seasons, but at his current salary, Houston would be extremely smart to move on from their starting right tackle that they just acquired last offseason.