The Houston Texans could be an exciting team to watch during the 2026 offseason. Houston looked incredible during the 2025 season, but lost a brutal playoff game with New England to end their Cinderella run. Now the Texans have plenty of motivation to improve the roster over the next few months.
Unfortunately, that could be difficult because of their salary cap situation.
The Texans are currently $4.91 million over the 2026 salary cap at this point during the offseason. They should already be thinking about which moves they will make to get back in compliance with the salary cap.
Houston will need to go even further if they want enough cap space to add new players in free agency this spring.
But which roster moves could Houston make to create cap space? And is it worth shedding players to increase their budget?
Below we will explore five roster moves the Texans need to make to clear up cap space during the 2026 NFL offseason.
The Texans need to cut Joe Mixon, Tank Dell amid injury concerns
Let's start with two easy cuts.
Joe Mixon did not play during the 2025 season because of a foot injury.
The veteran running back will turn 30 years old this summer. He is also on the final year of his current contract. Those two factors combined make it very easy to move on this offseason.
Houston can gain $8 million in cap space by cutting Mixon.
The Texans should still add bodies at the position this offseason to add depth behind Woody Marks.
Next there's Tank Dell.
Dell suffered an absolutely brutal knee injury towards the end of the 2024 NFL season. He did not play during the 2025 season as he recovered from reconstructive surgery on his knee. In total, Dell tore his ACL, LCL, and MCL. That made the road to recovery quite long for Dell.
At this point, Dell is on schedule to be able to return for the 2026 season. But I wouldn't fault the Texans for being a bit skeptical about what they can get from Dell this fall.
Houston does not have as big of a need at wide receiver as it did when Dell was healthy.
The Texans have Nico Collins as their WR1 of the future. They also added both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel during the 2025 NFL Draft.
Houston would save $3.61 million in cap space by cutting Dell.
Personally, I would love to see Dell return to the NFL and continue his career after his reconstructive surgery. I just don't think he makes sense for the Texans anymore.
I don't think Houston can pass up the opportunity to clear ~$12 million in cap space by making these two moves.
Houston could create cap space by restructuring Derek Stingley Jr.'s contract
Houston could also try restructuring some contracts to create some cap space.
The Texans could use the bonus conversion method to lower Derek Stingley Jr.'s cap hit in 2026. According to the CBA, NFL teams can perform this type of contract restructuring without consulting a player. It is as simple as making the choice.
Essentially, Houston can convert some of Stingley's base salary, roster bonus, and workout bonus into a signing bonus. When a player receives a signing bonus, it is spread out over the remaining years of the contract. That's how Houston can create new cap space this year without paying Stingley a different amount of money.
So much much could the Texans save by restructuring Stingley's contract?
The 25-year-old cornerback has a $21.60 million base salary in 2026. His minimum salary is $1.17 million and he has a $500,000 roster bonus. When you crunch the numbers, the maximum amount Houston could restructure is roughly $20 million. That could create a maximum of ~$15 million of cap relief in 2026.
I like the idea of Houston restructuring Stingley's contract because he is firmly a part of the team's long-term plans.
The Texans have a whopping $183.08 million in cap space next offseason. They should be perfectly comfortable eating into that with a restructure.
There's also the possibility that restructuring Stingley's contract now could make it easier to extend edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. this offseason.
Sounds like a great decision to me.
Texans should attempt to trade veterans Jimmie Ward, Dalton Schultz
Finally, there's always the trade market.
Ward and Schultz are two players on expiring contracts who I think Houston could land something for in a trade.
Ward is a veteran safety who keeps playing well into his mid 30s. He logged 32 tackles, 16 assists, and two interceptions (including one pick-six) during the 2025 season.
Trading Ward would net $2.75 million in salary cap relief in 2026 with no dead money.
Meanwhile, Schultz strikes me as a “sell high” kind of player. Schultz will turn 30 years old before the 2026 season and had a career year in 2025. He hauled in 82 receptions for 777 receiving yards and three touchdowns. That is the most receptions of his entire career.
Perhaps the Texans should attempt to get something back for Schultz while he still has a market.
The Texans could save $5.65 million in cap space by trading Schultz. But they would have to eat some dead money in the process.
Ultimately, these are two players who I believe Houston should attempt to get something back for (ideally a draft pick or picks) in a trade.
Keeping either player is a reasonable course of action too. But when thinking about the future, now is the time to bail on both players.
