The Texans added 15 players through the draft and after in the undrafted free agent market.
Houston has built up its roster but in preparation for the 2024 season and the team could still look to the veteran free agency market to fill some remaining areas of need, upgrade backup positions or find added depth.
Here are 10 veteran free agents still available that could make sense in Houston.
TEXANS 2024 NFL Draft: Winners & losers
10 free agents Texans should sign following 2024 NFL Draft
S Justin Simmons
The Texans have Jimmie Ward, Jalen Pitre and Calen Bullock as their top three safeties. Ward has struggled to stay healthy, Pitre hasn’t performed to his second-round value and Bullock is a third-round rookie. The group needs a top-tier addition to solidify the unit before the season.
Simmons, 30, has missed seven games over the past two seasons after not missing any games between 2018-2021. It’s too early to write Simmons off after the past few seasons with injuries. He’s played 100% of the defensive snaps in every game he’s played since 2018 except for playing 99% of the snaps in 2021. Simmons has picked off 23 passes over the past five seasons.
CB Steven Nelson
Nelson has only missed five games in the past six years. He’s durable and productive as he’s coming off a season in which he played 95% of the defensive snaps for Houston and tied a career-high with four interceptions that he set with the Chiefs back in 2015. The 12 passes defensed and 63 tackles he had in 2023 were also the most he’s had since his 2015 season.
Nelson, 31, is durable and still playing the best ball of his career. The Texans talk about continuity but are far from it in 2024 at the cornerback position. Three of their top four players are either external free agents or rookies. The Texans still need to add top-end cornerback talent. Nelson is a different personality as he seemingly takes routine questions and comments as slights. The talent outweighs the personality and past comments.
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DT Calais Campbell
Houston showed interest in Arik Armstead this offseason as they attempted to trade with the 49ers to acquire his service. Despite Campbell being older (he'll be 38 in September), he’s a cheaper, healthier and more productive pivot from Armstead. Houston doesn’t have to force the issue at defensive tackle in the same manner they should in the secondary but Campbell would be a great late addition to the roster.
Campbell has only missed nine games over the past nine seasons. During that he’s averaged 53 tackles, 19 qaurterback hits, 11 TFLs, seven sacks and three passes defensed per season. Campbell still played more than 60% of the defensive snaps and 30% of special teams snaps each season even at his current age. He's a true team player and as durable as they come.
CB Stephon Gilmore
If Nelson’s personality and past comments have broken the relationship with the Texans, Houston could pivot to two other veteran options on the cornerback market. The first one is Gilmore. He has only missed one game over the last two seasons but missed 14 games combined from 2020-2021.
Despite the injuries in 2020 and 2021, Gilmore, 33, returned and combined for 24 passes defensed in 2022 and 2023. Before his two seasons with injuries, he totaled an incredible 40 passes defensed in 2018 and 2019. Gilmore is still playing 94% of the snaps in his games. He’s a perfect veteran presence for Jeff Okudah, C.J. Henderson and rookie Kamari Lassiter.
Caserio is familiar with Gilmore from their time together in New England when Gilmore won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the Patriots in 2019 with 20 PDs and six interceptions.
2024 NFL Draft: Grades and superlatives for Texans
S Quandre Diggs
Diggs' most recent missed game was in 2019. He’s put up at least three interceptions every season since 2017 with the exception of 2023 in which he had one. Diggs has totaled 29 PDs over the past four seasons while putting up 90+ tackles in two of the last three years.
Diggs played 97% of the defensive snaps last year and would be a great addition in the secondary with Ward, allowing Pitre and Bullock to continue to learn from the veterans and only get pressed into action in big-dime situations where three safeties are used and three cornerbacks as opposed to the typical dime formations that use only two safeties and four cornerbacks. Pitre and Bullock could also see time if either Diggs or Ward were to get injured.
CB Xavien Howard
The injuries have hit Howard as of late and he hasn't shown his typical production. However, if the Texans can’t get a deal done with Gilmore and choose not to partner with Nelson again, Howard would be worth bringing home to Houston.
Howard has missed six games over the past two seasons but still managed to play 88% of the snaps in the game he saw action in, as well as recording 24 PDs in the past two seasons. Howard was even more productive a few years ago as he combined for 36 PDs over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Other free agent options
CB Patrick Peterson
After not missing a game in the first eight years of his career, Peterson has missed 10 over his past five seasons. Despite the injuries, Peterson has totaled 46 PDs and 13 interceptions over the past five years. In the past two seasons, he’s totaled 26 PDs. Peterson has played on at least 95% of the defensive snaps since 2014.
S Tashaun Gipson
Gipson could reunite with the Texans and DeMeco Ryans as well. Gipson has played both safety spots throughout his career and has only missed eight games over the past eight seasons. Gipson has played around 95% of the snaps during those eight seasons in the games he’s played in.
Gipson’s availability is vastly contrary to Ward’s. His versatility would allow him to step up for Ward if he were to miss time or play with him when both are healthy, allowing Pitre and Bullock to continue to develop behind the veterans and be prepared to step up when called upon.
EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
The Texans have their front-line talent at edge with Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. They have a good backup in Derek Barnett and have Dylan Horton returning for Year 2, along with the addition of late-round draft pick Solomon Byrd.
Ngakoue is coming off the most disappointing year of his career. The Texans could try to pounce on the pass rusher who is only a year removed from putting up 9.5 sacks, 16 QB hits and eight TFLs. The year before that in 2021, he had 10 sacks, 23 QB hits and eight TFLs. Ngakoue has played on more than 70% of the snaps in the past three seasons.
It’s not a necessity but Houston could add Ngakoue as a veteran backup with Barnett behind the starters on the edge. It would be quite the rotation with Anderson Jr., Hunter, Ngakoue, Barnett and even Denico Autry when he’s on the outside.
EDGE Bud Dupree
Dupree wouldn’t be the same caliber of backup as Ngakoue but would still be a solid rotational piece with Barnett at the backup edge spots. After hovering around 80 to 90% of the defensive snaps with the Steelers in his past four seasons in Pittsburgh (2017-2020), he’s been seeing the field around 55 to 70% the past three seasons.
Dupree had his best season in 2019 when he had 68 tackles, 17 QB hits, 16 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three PDs. This past season, he put up 39 tackles, eight QB hits, eight TFLs, 6.5 sacks, three PDs and two FFs while playing 22% fewer of the defensive snaps than he did during his 2019 campaign. He would be a solid rotational depth piece behind the starters.
Texans’ 2024 salary cap post-draft
To this point, the Texans are 10th in cap space and ninth in effective cap space, per OverTheCap. Houston has around $23.67 million in salary cap space and $21.81 in effective cap space once the team signs its draft class. The entire AFC South is in the top nine in cap space and effective cap space with the Jaguars, Titans and Colts all in the top-five in effective cap space.
Here is the full rundown of each NFL team's salary cap and effective salary cap after the draft:
| Team | Cap Space | Effective Cap Space |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | $50,781,659 | $43,100,745 |
| Commanders | $43,437,115 | $34,534,877 |
| Jaguars | $34,231,736 | $30,866,651 |
| Titans | $30,836,098 | $25,566,201 |
| Chargers | $30,661,002 | $23,608,259 |
| Cardinals | $29,322,545 | $19,586,636 |
| Colts | $28,412,296 | $24,784,954 |
| Eagles | $28,176,857 | $24,651,262 |
| Lions | $26,008,308 | $23,416,428 |
| Texans | $23,670,426 | $21,811,555 |
| Bengals | $23,362,449 | $19,824,748 |
| Bears | $22,814,788 | $12,539,188 |
| Raiders | $22,566,943 | $18,612,800 |
| Packers | $21,699,437 | $17,821,402 |
| Chiefs | $20,157,377 | $17,635,078 |
| Steelers | $18,345,353 | $15,062,351 |
| Vikings | $16,672,244 | $11,062,173 |
| Broncos | $15,174,810 | $11,881,339 |
| Browns | $13,583,574 | $12,673,713 |
| Rams | $11,476,513 | $7,876,454 |
| Jets | $9,190,213 | $5,080,415 |
| Panthers | $8,082,458 | $5,528,084 |
| Saints | $7,780,455 | $4,270,748 |
| Ravens | $7,231,042 | $4,558,494 |
| 49ers | $6,391,025 | $3,753,942 |
| Cowboys | $6,296,988 | $3,581,386 |
| Falcons | $5,709,099 | $617,103 |
| Giants | $5,447,378 | -$384,645) |
| Dolphins | $2,916,052 | $138,778 |
| Bills | $2,898,830 | $723,481 |
| Seahawks | $1,616,170 | -$1,390,018) |
| Buccaneers | $390,599 | -$2,281,553) |
The easiest way to the playoffs is through your division. The Texans have a target on their back in the AFC South and their divisional rivals will continue to do everything they can to close the gap. While Houston wants to win the AFC South again that’s not their prime objective this season. They’re hoping to win a championship.
The rookie class will need to be signed but then the Texans will need to decide the best path for the remaining space with Nico Collins’ extension, available veteran free agents, in-season additions and rolling some cap space over to 2025.
The need, talent and money are there for the Texans to complete their all-in offseason before the talent dries up by signing two to three guys off the above list or comparable talent. Houston doesn’t want to come up short in January because they stopped short of adding a talented vet or two on mutually beneficial one-year deals.
