Rival executives blast the Texans' aggressive spending and short-term contract strategies, deeming their approach "not sustainable" for long-term success.
The Houston Texans were thought to have done a great job throughout the 2026 NFL Draft. The franchise was able to address two of its biggest weaknesses, the interior of the offensive line and defensive tackle. Keylan Rutledge was the pick in the first round of the draft, while Kayden McDonald was the franchise's first pick in the second round of the event. Both of those picks have been praised since they were made.
Mike Sando of The Athletic spoke to anonymous executives from around the league following the 2026 NFL Draft. The discussion topics revolved around the draft, but executives went off on tangents about certain teams, and Houston happened to be one of them, "'Houston doesn’t care about anything,' one exec said. 'If you look even at their extensions, they don’t just set the market. They set the market. They are not really taking their time or being patient.' That continued in the draft, as Houston traded up two spots before making each of its first two selections, one for interior offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge (No. 26) and the other for defensive tackle Kayden McDonald (No. 36)."
Executives around the league do get upset when other teams reset the market, especially when they do it in a manner like the Texans have been. This was seen with the extension for Will Anderson Jr., who deserved every penny of the money he received on that deal. However, he became the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. So this reset the market for premier edge rushers and wide receivers. This market gets reset every offseason nowadays. Micah Parsons new extension was worth roughly $46.5 million per year, and Houston blew that out of the water by giving Anderson $50 million a season. The team also just committed $18 million per year to Azeez Al-Shaair, and the franchise has been spending.
General Manager Nick Caserio was praised by other executives for his ability to move around a draft board, but those around the league do not seem to like the way he goes about extensions. Contract extensions that are given out affect every organization in the league, as each new contract will have an impact on the market. Most of the deals are also shorter, which was a point that was picked apart by a different executive, "They are paying top of the market on short deals for all their best players. That is not sustainable.”