- 2 days ago
Seth and B-Scott talk about the Texans clearing some cap space by restructuring Derek Stingley's contract and giving Danielle Hunter a 1-year extension.
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00:00This is probably going to be a little bit of a news-filled weekend because, I mean, we got news
00:04yesterday that Casario had made some moves to clear some space with a restructure of Derek Stingley's contract and then
00:12an extension for Daniil Hunter.
00:14And now all of a sudden the Texans are sitting right there, right in the middle of the pack in
00:19terms of available cap space with about $22.5 million of cap space, give or take, and they're about 14th
00:25or 15th most cap space in the league.
00:27They've got all the room they need to have to do whatever they want.
00:31So since you mentioned it, let's start there.
00:33You mentioned the extension for Daniil Hunter.
00:36It's a one-year extension for $40-plus million, $30.7 million in signing bonus.
00:43It's going to take them here through the 2027 season, keep them with the Texans through the 2027 season, but
00:48give them a whole bunch of money up front.
00:50And then Derek Stingley Jr., who just signed his extension last year, it was a three-year, roughly $90 million
00:58deal, I think $89 million extension.
01:01It was also restructure.
01:04What was your reaction when you first saw that yesterday?
01:07Was it more of a, hey, Nick is cooking?
01:10Or how did you take this in when you saw the news yesterday?
01:13The two things, you know, the Derek Stingley restructuring is just a classic, hey, take some salary, turn it to
01:19signing bonus.
01:20It's a guy you feel good about, so it doesn't, it's not like you're credit card spending or just pushing
01:24money off into the future.
01:26And it's one of those things that Nick has at his disposal to do pretty much whenever he wants when
01:32he needs to create a little bit of room.
01:33And that's what I pretty much expected him to start doing is, okay, as we need room to perhaps sign
01:44guys, re-sign guys,
01:46maybe they end up re-signing Ed Ingram or somebody like that, they'll have the space to do that.
01:51But then also with the Daniil Hunter extension, it's an extension of the philosophy and the strategy they've used with
02:01him
02:01that I've really, really liked ever since he came in, which is, hey, he's an older player, he's really, really
02:06good.
02:07Give him pretty much a 100% guaranteed contract and just keep extending it year by year.
02:14It's a contract that is really good for the team because it gives them flexibility.
02:19It doesn't pin them down to a long-term commitment to an older guy where if all of a sudden
02:25Daniil Hunter started getting injured
02:26all the time or anything, they don't have this three- or four-year contract they've got sitting out there.
02:32From Daniil Hunter's perspective, you know, I think this is how I was as an older player at least, was,
02:38man,
02:39it's nice to just kind of, you know, get paid as you go, like be a day laborer almost, so
02:45that you have that freedom.
02:46You don't have it hanging over your mind that I've got to play this contract out or I'm committed to
02:51this certain amount.
02:52Or if I retire now, I'm going to have to pay back a prorated portion of my signing bonus.
02:58It's just a nice setup to where you don't feel tied down and that maybe you can have control over
03:04what career decisions you make
03:06without being unfettered by a long obligation.
03:10And it also puts them with like a carrot on a stick right in front of them where, yeah, I
03:14keep playing like this.
03:15I'm on a team where they're going to reward me.
03:17I don't have to negotiate a new deal or be a jerk that holds out with time left on my
03:22contract.
03:23So it's a nice symbiotic relationship they've got between Daniil Hunter and the team.
03:26Yeah, it's a positive move.
03:28I probably shouldn't have been surprised by it because he was a perfect either restructure or extension candidate
03:34even just going into the offseason.
03:36But I got to be honest, man, and as great as Daniil Hunter has been really throughout his career,
03:41but especially and particularly since his time here,
03:43my initial reaction was just hoping that this was some kind of savvy cap maneuver to get Hunter his money,
03:51kind of what we're saying, get him his money that you already intend to pay him anyway
03:55rather than just simply needlessly extending someone who's already under contract.
04:01I mean, we're so one-track minded, or I'll speak for myself,
04:04I'm so one-track minded on what the goals and purposes of the offseason are.
04:07You need to sign and extend Will Anderson Jr. at some point.
04:11You got this offensive line issue, four guys that you either need to replace or upgrade from.
04:18I'll get into this a little bit later, but I feel like they could still use some weapons.
04:22I'm not sure if they're going to actually be able to get that
04:24or if that's something they'll have to target more so in the draft
04:27or maybe that's something to watch out in the trade market.
04:30But I'm looking around and I'm like, Daniil Hunter, every year it's something with this guy.
04:35They signed him to a massive deal when they brought him in.
04:37They signed him to an extension last year and guaranteed all the money.
04:41How is it every offseason this dude gets new money, more money?
04:45But he's earning it, though. I have no problems with it.
04:48And that's pretty much a strategy they've had since they signed him.
04:51They didn't.
04:51I think when he was on the market, remember the Texans didn't really realize
04:56that he might be interested or they might be able to sign him.
05:00And I think sometimes that's because, all right, you look at a guy like Daniil,
05:04he's likely going to get a four-year deal for some amount of money somewhere.
05:07And the Texans might have just not realized or thought that he'd be into just signing a two-year deal
05:14because it's still the exception.
05:16Guys want as much top-line money as possible.
05:18I think it speaks to Daniil's maturity that you don't necessarily have to get your ego wrapped up in it
05:25as a player.
05:27A 100% guarantee contract is a really, really good deal.
05:31And he's getting what he's worth, but also with that ability to just keep upping the ante
05:37as the salary cap goes on and on.
05:39And that's the way it's worked out with the Texans.
05:41I think they probably envisioned it working this way.
05:44This is what I was hoping for when they first signed him is that, yeah,
05:48they can just keep extending him by one year every year.
05:50So the first year they did it, I got really excited just because it looked like that was my dream
05:56scenario.
05:57It's almost like renting a furnished apartment.
06:01There's a lot of things you don't have to worry about.
06:05Maybe you're paying a bit of a premium up front, but it's a corporate rental.
06:08You're only going to be working on this gig for a year,
06:11and you don't want to have to deal with the whole buying a bunch of furniture
06:14that you're not going to end up keeping or anything else like that.
06:17So it just works out for both sides.
06:20Daniil would be the furnished apartment in this case,
06:22and I would be the guy who's in town working for an oil and gas company
06:26that eventually has to get back to my home.
06:29Man, nobody really wants to buy a couch or a coffee table.
06:34Nobody really wants to do that.
06:37So I'm right there with you.
06:39I already got your furnished apartment.
06:41Go ahead and go with it.
06:42I will say this.
06:43This is the one little concern I would have, though.
06:46I'll say this.
06:46It's what I'm nervous about, okay?
06:50Everything so far, if we just kind of go back to the beginning of the week
06:53and look at the stage that Nick Casario has kind of been setting here,
06:58all right, he trades away Titus Howard.
07:00You figure that's a cost-saving measure, all right?
07:03They bring in David Montgomery on a trade,
07:07but that's a cheaper option than, let's say,
07:10the high-ticket running backs that some of us were hoping for, right?
07:15Like I had Brees Hall on my mind.
07:16Obviously, he's not even available.
07:18But, like, the high-ticket guys.
07:20Kenneth Walker, Travis Etienne.
07:22Yeah, somebody like that, okay?
07:23So that's kind of even in and of itself a cost-saving move,
07:27but you're making the team better by getting that guy.
07:29Now you're getting these restructures of key figures on the team, right?
07:34The Neil Hunter and Derrick Stangley Jr.
07:37These are pro-bowl, all-pro-level players on your team,
07:40and you're doing these restructures or these extensions to create this money.
07:45And then what if they go out there and don't necessarily spend, you know,
07:50a whole lot?
07:51Like, that would be the sin of it to me.
07:53That's what happened last year.
07:54We were hoping it looked like, oh, they're tearing the O-line down.
07:57They're going to build it back up.
07:59And they didn't.
08:00Yeah, so that's my thing.
08:01I'm preparing myself to be underwhelmed.
08:03But all the while, you've got Nick Casario kind of just dangling the carrot
08:08right in front of my face here saying, hey, man, we're clearing up this space.
08:12We've got all of this money now.
08:14Oh, yeah, we've got no less than three needs on the offensive line.
08:18We've got the resources.
08:19We've created even the resources to go out there and do it.
08:22And, man, if they don't, if it's just like some ho-hum, you know, retret,
08:28like whatever the Cam Robinson, Laken Tomlinson facsimile would be for this
08:34offseason, if they do that while having done all of this,
08:37it'll feel real, real empty and frustrating for them.
08:40Yeah.
08:40No, and I think the fan base in general feels that way.
08:45I think you and I are kind of in lockstep with the fan base where maybe I was
08:51obviously overly optimistic that they were going to be aggressive in addressing
08:55the offensive line last year, and then they didn't.
08:58But I kept telling myself, okay, well, it's a two-year plan maybe.
09:02And I understand that philosophy, especially when you've got a new O-line coach,
09:07that you want to try to, you know, get a feel for exactly what Nick Kaley
09:11and Cole Popovich are doing and what's working and what's not working.
09:16And you've got to give your young guys time to develop.
09:19You've got a draft pick in Ariante Urseri.
09:21And that within these next two years, do something to really get headed in the
09:26right direction.
09:27I'm going to, as disappointed as I was last year,
09:30I'm just going to be flat-out pissed this year if they just,
09:33if they're not more aggressive.
09:35And that doesn't mean that they go out and sign Tyler Linderbaum to a record-breaking
09:40contract or anything, but doing what Chicago did last year,
09:44which is go get viable offensive line free agents or trades that can come in
09:50and plug and play.
09:51That, you know, okay, these guys are solid football players.
09:54They don't have to be all pro, but we just got to have,
09:56we got to have experience across the board and legitimate NFL players instead of
10:01experiments or journeymen that you're hoping work out.
10:04See, that's my thing.
10:05And you mentioned that two-year plan.
10:07I've seen other fans and other folks out here and like in the Texans community,
10:11the Texans watching and commentating community talk about how it was always a
10:16two-year plan with Cole Popovich coming in and then remaking the offensive line.
10:20Am I crazy that I just can't get with that?
10:23Like I, I, I can understand it.
10:26You know, like I can, I can process the logic of it, but I just,
10:30for whatever reason, Seth, I cannot abide by it.
10:33It feels like, it almost feels like wasted time.
10:36And maybe, maybe we're saying something a little bit different here when we talk
10:39about like a, almost a gap year with the offensive line, but it felt like an urgent
10:44matter, man.
10:45CJ, CJ Stroud was on his ass as much as anybody the previous year.
10:48Now they improved on that.
10:50They couldn't run the ball worth it now, but like you're, you still got the,
10:53the quarterback on the rookie deal, which is something that we talk about a lot.
10:56You've got, you've got a lot of young players that are still relatively cheap, a young team.
11:01You've been in the final eight, the previous two years, and then you do it again last year.
11:06Just, it doesn't feel like you've, even though you've got a young team that you've got a lot
11:10of time to waste, it feels like time is more precious than anything while everyone is still
11:16young and relatively cost controlled.
11:19That, that bothers me whenever I hear about a two-year plan and I go out there and I look
11:24at the offensive line, trying to piecemeal it together.
11:26CJ Stroud's getting concussed, scrambling.
11:29I'm just like, guys, we don't have time to mess around here.
11:32You know, I think there's a, if I were to make an analogy in team building, whether you
11:36want to call it a two-year planning or just trying to go the slow and steady route.
11:39If you, if you think about like when a tree grows, if you're growing a tree, a dangerous
11:44thing with a tree is you over-fertilize it when it's young.
11:47Cause it starts like, it starts growing faster than it's actually meant to grow and it can
11:53end up weakening it because everything, you just get this burst of growth and it, it doesn't
11:58know what to do with all of these nutrients.
12:00Um, I think with, with team building, I think sometimes there's a fear that if you are, if
12:06you add a boatload of new elements into a mix that you're going to be spending a whole
12:12lot of money on fertilizer, some of which is going to be wasted and that you don't have
12:17time to kind of grow organically.
12:19And that's where, whether you call it a two-year plan or not, I think some, some patience,
12:26it takes some discipline to have patience in doing it, but you also want to figure out
12:31what you have in your younger guys, not just end up casting aside younger guys, just because
12:36you can swap out an older, more expensive guy for them.
12:39On the sum total of it all, the really interesting thing will be, all right, last year we felt
12:45like they weren't aggressive enough on the offensive line.
12:47If Ariante Urseri turns into a really good football player, which I think he's very capable
12:51of doing, and if they retain Ed Ingram at a reasonable price, because I think they're
12:55going to let him test free agency most likely, then all right, you got two pieces added to
13:01the offensive line that you feel good about.
13:04If they end up going out and getting another couple guys in free agency this year and they
13:08draft an offensive lineman in the first round, that in hindsight could look like, oh wow,
13:14it was good that they were patient.
13:15They got guys that not for a ridiculous sum of money, then you got an O-line you feel good
13:20about.
13:20But that, as of right now, that's just all wishful thinking.
13:23So it's, I get, I'm frustrated myself.
13:28I will be placated somewhat if they're super aggressive in free agency.
13:32I just, I don't want to set myself up for disappointment.
13:36We'll talk about the offensive line in just a little bit, a little bit more, because you
13:40were on the air, you and Sean were still on the air.
13:42During crosstalk, I think, when the Trent Brown news came out, the one-year deal, they're bringing
13:48him back for a deal worth up to $7 million.
13:51I got a couple of thoughts on that, and I know you had a chance to react initially.
13:56We'll dig into it a little bit more, but back to Daniil Hunter, or just on the Daniil
14:00Hunter point too, this is something that I've kind of been thinking.
14:03I know we talked about it being sort of a one-year, year-to-year type of thing, but I'm
14:08also thinking about it like in terms of them sort of perfectly matching it up with the Will
14:15Anderson Jr. rookie deal, right?
14:17To me, it seems like if Will Anderson Jr. signs his extension this offseason, then
14:23that money doesn't necessarily have to kick in until the next year or the year after
14:27that, right?
14:28And so now you've got Daniil Hunter, who's expensive for this year, and we'll see what
14:34happens next year.
14:35Most of that money is being paid up front, right?
14:37A lot of it is being paid initially.
14:39So we'll even see what happens next year.
14:41And then by the time Will Anderson Jr. actually becomes expensive, that's when you're making the
14:47Daniil Hunter decision of either he's still this productive of a player and you have to
14:53decide whether you want to keep him at this price, or he's not as productive of a player
14:58and therefore now he's cheaper and then you can keep him around.
15:02Obviously, we know he's from here and is connected to the area, has had some success here.
15:06Maybe he wants to stick around if we've seen some diminished returns by that point.
15:10So I think this is kind of perfectly marrying up the timelines, if you will, of Daniil Hunter's
15:17aging career and Will Anderson Jr.'s ascending career.
15:21Yeah, yeah.
15:22And I think that's a smart way to do it.
15:25They've got a two-year window where you're still not going to pee, even if they did extend
15:30CJ this offseason, which I don't think they will.
15:33But even if they did, yeah, his money doesn't kick in for a couple years.
15:36Will Anderson's doesn't.
15:37And in the short term, I saw somebody, I think it was Cody.
15:42I've got to talk to Cody Stutes about this.
15:43Cody said he thought that the Daniil Hunter extension is a sign that they're not going to
15:49spend all that heavily in free agency this year.
15:51I disagree with that, but I want to hear him flesh it out and maybe hear his explanation.
15:56They do clear up $4 million in cap space now.
15:59And also with Daniil Hunter, again, the big thing you have to think about in whether a team
16:04is flexible or not is not how much money they have this year in cap space is how much money
16:09do they have in the next couple years.
16:11And the Texans are still in really, really good shape in 2027 and 2028.
16:15So they can reasonably push money off into the future where it's still not credit card spending
16:22or doing what the Saints did back in the day.
16:24So I don't think that the extension of Daniil Hunter has anything to do with what their strategy
16:29this year might be.
16:30Yeah, I saw Cody's note as well or his mention on social media that it didn't make him feel
16:35good about what the Texans are going to do in the office.
16:39It made me nervous for different reasons of like, you know, just in terms of thinking
16:43about, man, this guy again, Daniil Hunter, more money for Daniil Hunter, man.
16:47This guy keeps getting rich.
16:48I didn't think of it in terms of, hey, they're not going to go out and spend.
16:52But like I mentioned before, it's what if they don't?
16:55What if they create whatever space they're creating?
16:57And then it's just kind of ho-hum and it's the same team or a similar team as what you
17:01saw last year.
17:02That would sort of be the sin of it.
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