clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2015 NFL Free Agency/Houston Texans Rumor Tracker (Part X): Who's Next?

Cap wizard Chris Olsen has finally abandoned the poor salary cap behavior of seasons past, and brought us a veteran fluffy fat man in Vince Wilfork and a 2 wide receiver in Cecil Shorts III. But we BRBers aren't satisfied and still have more hopes and desires for him to magically fit under our cap. Who else might come? How can we afford him?

What other presents might this man fit under our salary cap?
What other presents might this man fit under our salary cap?
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

In the past 24 hours, long-time Patriot Vince Wilfork has joined the team, speaking of his interest in playing with J.J., J-JoCush and Clowney. His addition should help Louis Nix III develop into our fluffy fat man in the middle of the future. Four-year vet Cecil Shorts III has finally left the nightmare that is the Jags franchise because he is tired of losing (and wants something positive at the quarterback position).

We still have holes, though, which is to be expected in the second season of a roster rejuvenation and change in philosophies. Among those holes are slot receiver, inside linebacker next to Cushing, offensive linemen depth, return specialists (unless K-Mart is our future at the position...yikes).

What say you, Battle Red Fanatics? What other positions should Chris Olsen finagle under the salary cap? How should he work this magic? Keep in mind that without Wilfork and Shorts' contracts included, but with Hoyer, Mallett and Moore's contracts, Spotrac says we have exactly $3,582,617 available, not including what we need for our draft picks.

2015 Cap Totals
CAP TYPE BASE SALARY SIGNING BONUS ROSTER BONUS OPTION BONUS WORKOUT BONUS

RESTRUC. BONUS

INCENTIVES CAP TOTAL
2015 NFL Salary Cap $143,280,000
2014 Rollover Cap $966,613
Adjustment $1,779,133
Adjusted Salary Cap $146,025,746
All Active Contracts $80,002,085 $24,046,708 $24,551,784 $2,450,000 - - $250,000 $131,300,577
Top 51 Contracts $75,217,085 $24,032,568 $24,551,784 $2,450,000 - - $250,000 $126,515,577
Draft Pool - - - - - - - $5,379,376
Dead Money - $3,698,176 - $400,000 - $6,450,000 - $10,548,176
Total (w/All Active) $80,002,085 $27,744,884 $24,551,784 $2,850,000 - $6,450,000 $250,000

$141,848,753

Total (w/Top 51) $75,217,085 $27,730,744 $24,551,784 $2,850,000 - $6,450,000 $250,000 $137,063,753
Cap Space (w/Top 51 & Projected Draft Pool) $3,582,617
Cap Space (w/Top 51) $8,961,993

Who should we target? How can we afford them? Please remember we need to field a competitive squad.

****

I've updated the cap space as Spotrac has updated their information. The only player not included is Shorts. This leaves us with a mere $470,742 in cap space, because we still need to leave $5,379,376 available for draft picks.

2015 Cap Totals
CAP TYPE BASE SALARY SIGNING BONUS ROSTER BONUS OPTION BONUS WORKOUT BONUS

RESTRUC. BONUS

INCENTIVES CAP TOTAL
2015 NFL Salary Cap $143,280,000
2014 Rollover Cap $966,613
Adjustment $1,779,133
Adjusted Salary Cap $146,025,746
All Active Contracts $81,832,085 $25,596,708 $26,223,659 $2,450,000 - - $250,000 $135,942,452
Top 51 Contracts $75,217,085 $25,582,568 $26,223,659 $2,450,000 - - $250,000 $129,627,452
Draft Pool - - - - - - - $5,379,376
Dead Money - $3,698,176 - $400,000 - $6,450,000 - $10,548,176
Total (w/All Active) $81,832,085 $29,294,884 $26,223,659 $2,850,000 - $6,450,000 $250,000

$146,490,628

Total (w/Top 51) $75,517,085 $29,280,744 $26,223,659 $2,850,000 - $6,450,000 $250,000 $140,175,628
Cap Space (w/Top 51 & Projected Draft Pool) $470,742
Cap Space (w/Top 51) $5,850,118