The Houston Texans arrived in 2023, in a lot of ways, ahead of schedule.
Buoyed by wunderkind quarterback, and eventual Offensive Rookie of The Year, C.J. Stroud, the Texans barnstormed to an AFC South championship, and playoff victory over the Cleveland Browns and all the while embodied the culture and fieriness of head coach DeMeco Ryans.
After finishing the 2023 season 10-7, general manager Nick Caserio and the Texans mashed the gas pedal this offseason turning one of the league’s most bountiful war chests in terms of cap space and draft picks into a blockbuster trade to acquire dynamic wide receiver Stefon Diggs, emergent pass rusher Danielle Hunter, defensive end Denico Autry, and others, fortifying a young roster with experienced veteran playmakers.
Given Stroud’s immense talent and what he showed as a rookie, combined with an explosive supporting cast, the Texans enter the 2024 season as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Can the Houston Texans Take The Next Step?
The next step in the Texans’ evolution, is continuing to quickly build towards hoisting the Lombardi while Stroud remains on an affordable rookie contract over the next three seasons.
To do so, the Texans are going to need to survive — and thrive in an AFC gauntlet that includes the Kansas City Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, the insurgent New York Jets with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, Tua Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins, among some of the deepest rosters in the league.
Fox Sports’ Ben Arthur suggests how the Texans face the suddenly mounting pressure will define Houston’s 2024 season.
“The pressure facing Houston will be Super Bowl-sized,” Arthur points out. “Further amplified by its offseason moves. The Texans committed $104.5 million in contract value to linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and defensive linemen Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry in free agency. Through the trade market, they acquired star running back Joe Mixon and perennial Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs, the latter of whom had the last three years of his contract wiped out, making him an unrestricted free agent next March. With a strong possibility that Diggs walks after the upcoming season, Houston has upped the ante on winning a Super Bowl in 2024.
“This is new territory for the Texans, who had three consecutive losing seasons before 2023. This is not a franchise accustomed to pressure.”
Unlike a year ago, the Texans are the team to beat in the AFC South, Stroud has a year of big-game experience under his belt, and the infusion of veteran talent should be major upgrade in the leadership department for a team looking to take a major next step in its development into a legitimate championship contender.
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