Texans offseason checklist: It's time to reach a long-term deal with a 2024 All-Pro 

With the new league year kicking off March 12, NFL teams are already deep into planning for the offseason.

Here are five moves the Houston Texans should make in the coming months.

1. Add wide receiver Cooper Kupp

The Texans need help at wide receiver. Stefon Diggs is a free agent and is coming off a season-ending ACL injury. Tank Dell is also recovering from a season-ending torn ACL and isn't expected back for the start of the season.

Head coach DeMeco Ryans hired former Rams offensive assistant Nick Caley as offensive coordinator earlier this offseason. He served as L.A.'s passing game coordinator in 2024 after coaching tight ends in New England (2017-22) and Los Angeles (2023).

Caley's familiarity with Kupp could make the Super Bowl LVI MVP attractive to Houston.

Last season, Kupp appeared in 12 games and had 67 receptions, 710 yards and six touchdown catches. Per Pro Football Focus, his 2.7 percent drop rate was tied with Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins for the seventh lowest among 38 wide receivers with at least 100 targets.

2. Select an interior offensive lineman early in the NFL Draft

The offensive line was Houston's weakest link last season. Per NFL Pro, the Texans allowed the league's fifth-highest quarterback pressure rate (37.9 percent). They also struggled in run-blocking situations, with Houston ending the season second in stuffed-run rate (21 percent).

In late February, Ryans suggested the offensive coaching change — the team also hired Cole Popovich as its offensive line coach — could lead to improved unit, but the third-year head coach shouldn't solely rely on a difference in scheme to bring about different results. Houston should have several solid options at offensive line to choose from in the early rounds and can't leave without one.

3. Restructure contracts of offensive tackles Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard

Tunsil ($28.85M) and Howard ($23.046M) have two of the team's three largest cap figures in 2025. Per Over The Cap, Houston ranks 24th in available cap space ($4.5M) and could save $23.2M by converting some of their tackles' base salaries into bonus payments.

Houston's offensive line was last season, but Tunsil was among the league's best tackles. He was No. 10 in ESPN's pass-block win-rate rankings among offensive tackles. Per Pro Football Focus, the left tackle was only responsible for 12.1 percent of the pressures on quarterback C.J. Stroud, the second-lowest responsibility rate among left tackles whose quarterback was pressured at least 50 times.

In 12 games at right tackle before ending the season at left guard, Howard averaged allowing 2.5 pressures on 39.8 pressure attempts per game.

4. Extend cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

Houston's 2022 first-round pick (No. 3 overall) is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract. The 2024 All-Pro has established himself as one of the league's best corners, putting him in line to exceed the extension cornerback Patrick Surtain II signed with the Broncos (four years, $96M) last offseason that made the 2024 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year the league's highest-paid cornerback. 

Among players targeted at least 50 times when the nearest defender in coverage, Stingley ranked fourth in catch rate over expected, allowing a reception 8.4 percentage points less than expected. He allowed 42 receptions on 90 targets for 444 yards. (h/t NFL Pro)

Stingley ended the season with five interceptions, making him the only player in the NFL with at least five interceptions in each of the past two seasons.

5. Sign a veteran defensive tackle in free agency

The Texans are thin in the middle of their defensive line with tackles Folorunso Fatukasi and Mario Edwards Jr. set to become unrestricted free agents March 12. Among Houston's defensive tackles, only Tim Settle played a higher percentage of his available snaps than Edwards or Fatukasi, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Texans could upgrade at the position in free agency by adding a player such as Jets defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw, a strong interior pass-rusher with a history with Ryans from their time together in San Francisco. Another option is Bengals defensive lineman B.J. Hill, one of the best free-agent interior run-defenders. Either one could take an already-stout Houston defense to the next level.