Texian
Hall of Fame
Without resorting to personal attacks, let me try it this way.
If it was important to the Texans to have an additional $10M in cap space for 2015, why did they structure $12M into new contracts as roster bonuses?
What contracts? and what are the roster dates? A roster bonus allows a team to give a player money up front without amortization. A roster bonus paid in future years protects against a career ending injury or a Matt Schaub collapse.
I think the answer to your question and is speculation on my part, I think the Texans felt more confident with Watt's money spread over future years than doing the same with 3 or 4 players who may or may not play out their contracts. Odds/risk are better with JJ. Other amortized contracts have a greater risk of becoming dead money. I don't agree with restructuring contracts, especially in a rebuilding year, but if you must, JJ's one contract makes the most sense.