There is perhaps nothing more disconcerting for fans of any team in the NFL than seeing their team begin to make moves that would suggest they are about to take a nosedive in the coming season. That scenario becomes even stranger when those moves are being made by a team that was in the playoffs last season and considered to be on the brink of seriously challenging for the Super Bowl. With that in mind, it would seem that all is not well in Houston, with the Texans making moves that have left more than a few people confused at the direction they are taking. Sending DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals is definitely a head scratcher, and while the player and head coach Bill O’Brien both claim that there was no rift, you do need to wonder why the Texans would allow their biggest offensive target to walk in free agency. Houston has made a few moves in the opening week of free agency, but you have to assume that there will be more to come. Here’s an overview of the Houston Texans and their NFL Odds as it stands.
Houston Texans NFL Odds After Free Agency Week 1
Player Movement and Possible Future Moves
The Texans are coming off what was a rather successful season, going 10-6, which was good enough to win the AFC South. The Texans then had a rather strange run in the playoffs, coming from behind to beat the Bills in OT in the Wild Card round, before blowing a 24-0 lead to lose 51-31 to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was that loss that exposed some serious issues on the defensive side of the football, so look for Houston to address those issues in the coming weeks.
One of the issues that has arisen in the wake of the DeAndre Hopkins move is that DeShaun Watson has become more than a little displeased at losing his best target. There have even been rumors that Watson may seek a way out of Houston.
It is going to be tough to replace what Hopkins delivered in his time in Houston, unless the Texans can somehow go out and take a chance on Antonio Brown. They did already make a move to bring in another receiver, but Randall Cobb is more of a slot receiver than the deep threat that Hopkins has been over the years. It’s definitely a downgrade, so do not be surprised if the Texans either try to land another big name or go with a WR in the first round of the draft. For now, the Texans have been taking this time to lock up some of the players that were about to enter the free agent market, with QB AJ McCarron, CB Vernon Hargreaves, and OT Roderick Johnson, just a few of the players that will be staying in Houston this season. The Texans looked to shore up a rather leaky pass defense by bringing in S Eric Murray from the Cleveland Browns on a 3-year deal.
There still seems to be some uncertainty in Houston, with fans hoping that their team will show their intended direction over the next few weeks.
The Houston Texans Odds to Win the Super Bowl
The bookies do not seem to be totally sold on what the Texans are doing right now, as they have them in at +5000 Odds to win the Super Bowl. Those odds might improve if they can make some bigger moves in the next few weeks.
