Houston Texans
The 2016 Texans were a team that dominated on defense and struggled on offense, especially at quarterback. So, as far as the 2017 offseason went, a pretty basic blueprint to becoming a true Super Bowl contender would have had Houston keep its defense together while upgrading the quarterback position.
That has not happened.
Granted, getting Brock Osweiler (and his salary) off the team was addition by subtraction. But the Texans still have Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden as their quarterbacks. Not exactly a duo that’s going to help unseat the Patriots atop the AFC.
To be fair, Houston ridding itself of Osweiler’s salary could have been a way to clear money for a Tony Romo trade, which has been rumored.
But obviously, that deal is yet to occur.
Really, that’s only part of the problem.
Houston’s secondary has also lost two key members. One is ball-hawk safety Quintin Demps. He intercepted six passes in 2016 and has been one of the NFL’s best safeties at forcing turnovers over the last several years.
Most interceptions by NFL safeties last four years:
18 … Reggie Nelson
16 … Glover Quin
14 … Kurt Coleman
14 … Quintin Demps— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) December 25, 2016
A.J. Bouye is also gone, having signed with the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (for a veritable fortune, we might add).
So, in a nutshell, the quarterback position has not been upgraded and the defense has been downgraded. If the Texans want to wiggle out of looming playoff obscurity in 2017, then they need to spend the remaining free agency period filling at least some of those gaps.