It has been an eventful start to the offseason for the Houston Texans already. They have had a change at head coach, with Lovie Smith taking over. Of course, the Deshaun Watson situation also continues as well. With Houston looking to rebuild, the Houston Texans free agency decisions must be perfect for this to happen quickly.
Below, we will look at the Texans’ cap space to see how much they have to spend. However, teams can now manipulate the cap to sign nearly any player they would like. We will also go over other Houston Texans free agency information, including their own 2022 free agents and define what each type of free agent is.
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Houston Texans Cap Space | NFL Free Agency
As of March 11th, the Houston Texans cap space ranks near the middle of the league. They have roughly $17.6 million in cap space. So, while Houston may struggle to make a huge splash in free agency, they have the money to fill some needs. They also have enough money to re-sign the Houston Texans free agents they feel like they need.
Houston Texans Free Agents 2022
The following are the 2022 Houston Texans free agents as of March 11th.
| Player | Pos | 2022 Team | Type | Snaps |
| Desmond King | CB | UFA | 80.70% | |
| Terrance Mitchell | CB | SFA | 69.30% | |
| Christian Kirksey | LB | UFA | 68.70% | |
| Justin Reid | S | UFA | 67.90% | |
| Kamu Grugier-Hill | LB | UFA | 67.70% | |
| Justin Britt | C | UFA | 62.90% | |
| Jacob Martin | EDGE | UFA | 60.80% | |
| Chris Conley | WR | UFA | 58.40% | |
| Geron Christian | LT | UFA | 55.20% | |
| Maliek Collins | IDL | UFA | 54.80% | |
| Pharaoh Brown | TE | UFA | 53.60% | |
| DeMarcus Walker | EDGE | UFA | 37.60% | |
| Kingsley Keke | IDL | Texans | Signed | 36.40% |
| Jon Weeks | LS | Texans | Signed | 31.20% |
| Jordan Akins | TE | UFA | 30.70% | |
| Tyrod Taylor | QB | UFA | 30.30% | |
| David Johnson | RB | UFA | 29.70% | |
| Antony Auclair | TE | UFA | 29.60% | |
| Lane Taylor | LG | UFA | 29.20% | |
| Eric Wilson | LB | UFA | 26.60% | |
| Neville Hewitt | LB | UFA | 25.70% | |
| Jimmy Morrissey | C | Texans | Signed | 24.20% |
| Jaleel Johnson | IDL | UFA | 22.90% | |
| Chris Moore | WR | UFA | 21.50% | |
| Royce Freeman | RB | UFA | 19.80% | |
| Danny Amendola | WR | UFA | 15.90% | |
| Terrence Brooks | S | UFA | 15.60% | |
| Chris Smith | EDGE | UFA | 7.80% | |
| Cole Toner | RG | UFA | 6.40% | |
| A.J. Moore | CB | UFA | 3.00% | |
| Vincent Taylor | IDL | UFA | 2.30% | |
| Davion Davis | WR | Texans | Signed | 2.00% |
| Hardy Nickerson | LB | UFA | 0.80% | |
| Tae Davis | LB | Texans | Signed | 0.00% |
| Jeff Driskel | QB | UFA | 0.00% |
Defining the Type of NFL Free Agents
Unrestricted Free Agents
An unrestricted free agent (UFA) can freely talk to or sign with any team after the start of the new league year. Any player with four or more accrued seasons in the NFL can be a UFA.
The net loss and gain of UFAs for a team are used to calculate the next season’s compensatory draft picks, but no other compensation is available to a team that sees a player leave as a UFA.
Restricted Free Agents
A player must have three accrued NFL seasons to be a restricted free agent (RFA). Before the new league year begins, a team can place one of three tenders on a restricted free agent (first, second or original-round tender). Essentially, this gives the player the option to return to the team on a one-year deal.
The RFA is allowed to seek deals with other teams, but the tendering team (original team) has the opportunity to match the offer and keep them. If the tendering team doesn’t match the offer, the signing team may need to give a draft pick according to the level of tender used on the player.
Exclusive-Rights Free Agents
Exclusive-rights free agency (ERFA) is only eligible to players who have two or fewer NFL seasons accrued. Teams can use an ERFA tender to any of these players before the start of the new league year, and it stops the player from negotiating contracts with other teams. The player can sign the tender, which is a one-year deal at their position’s minimum salary, or they can negotiate for a longer extension.
Finally, RFAs or ERFAs who do not receive a tender before the league year begins become “street free agents.” Street free agents have the same rights as UFAs, but they are not counted in the compensatory pick formula.
