If you think Texans have somehow mismanaged the cap catastrophically, you're insane, or at the very least don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry about this tone, but I'm tired of these threads popping up.
Sorry Paycheck, in this case I do know what I'm talking about. The Texans have done a very poor job of managing the salary cap since 2010. see below
Calm down... Rick is doing a fine job I think. In this day of the NFL, all of the good teams will have to make compromises due to the cap.
Rick is doing what he's told to do. Rick is to Gary what Scott Pioli was to Bill Belichick. The Texans have mortgaged the future every year since 2010. Each year since 2010 if the Texans haven't been over the cap to start the new year they don't have enough cap space to fill out the roster. Every year they restructure contracts to borrow money from future years to get 53 players under contract and 8 players signed to the practice squad.
In essence, the Texans have 8-10 players who make minimums ($500K-$900K per yr) instead of players with a higher value of $2-$4 million a year because they've borrowed that money from future years to get under the cap every year since 2010. Just so you know the Texans will be in the same position in 2014 they've been in the last 4 years. 2015 is worse. Currently the Texans will start 2014 approx. $8 mil under the cap. They will need $10-$12 to meet 2014 obligations. In contrast the Colts will start 2014 approx $40-$42 MILLION under the cap.
Every year it's the same scramble to find rookie/vet minimums that fit under the contract and the bottom of the roster is one of the weaker in the league. When you can only afford $500K per year player instead of $2-$4 million a year player you get the results you get. It will only get worse dur to all the injuries.
When Mario Williams became a free agent his $18 million salary came off the books YET the Texans started the new year only $3 million under the cap.
In order to sign Arian Foster to a long term contract at $8 mil a year the Texans had to release Winston, Lawrence, Lienart, Jones and trade Ryans. At the time Foster was a RFA and could've been tendered at $2 mil for the season saving $6 million. Because the Texans didn't have cap space they didn't have the cap space to sign Glover Quin and thought they could do better with Ed Reed.....I could go on and on and on......Here is a list of players that have been let go because of NO salary cap and have not been replaced by equal or better talent and that's BAD Salary Cap management..
Winston, Brisel, Dreessen, Ryans, Lawrence, Leach, Jones, Barwin, Casey, Quin and Mario.
The Texans need to clean house and have a fire sale in order for this team to be in a position to get better every year instead of band aids to maintain the status go or the all to familiar couple of steps backwards.
