Aaron Wilson reporting that Texans will part ways with Mixon and explore a "high end" RB.

Texan_Aggie said:

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Aaron Wilson reporting that Texans will part ways with Mixon and explore a "high end" RB.

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Please be Kenneth Walker.

Texan_Aggie said:

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Aaron Wilson reporting that Texans will part ways with Mixon and explore a "high end" RB.

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30 years from now, Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs will be 0.5% choices on Immaculate Grid for "played for Texans" categories.

good move

Mixon turns 30 in July

IrishAg said:

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zooguy96 said:

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Texan_Aggie said:

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Aaron Wilson reporting that Texans will part ways with Mixon and explore a "high end" RB.

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Please be Kenneth Walker.

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Rumors are that he is a target

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From Seattle radio / ESPn

Walker's role in Seattle isn't that of a premiere workhorse back. He was part of an effective committee approach to the season, and it's one that may very well have kept Walker healthy enough to bulldoze through January. That's the role Seattle will want to pay for. But will another team desperate for a running back ffer a top salary?

"I know he's coming off the Super Bowl MVP and that's obviously a huge feather in his cap," ESPN's Dan Graziano told us Wednesday on Bump and Stacy. "But you look at the year, he's thrived in this two-back setup with Charbonnet, and I think if you're Seattle you're trying to sell him on like, hey, we've got something special here, we were able to keep you healthy, etc. So, I think they'll try to get a deal done with him, but if not, he goes onto the market with those other backs and it depends on whose eye he ends up being the apple of."

What's the cost?
Spotrac has Ken Walker's market value at $9 million AAV, but that's not where Graziano is looking.
"I start as a baseline with what Kyren Williams got from the Rams last year, about $11 million a year for three years. I think that's probably where (this year's running back free agents) will try and top that and get as close as possible to the $14 million (the Colts') Jonathan Taylor makes."

zooguy96 said:

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Texan_Aggie said:

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Aaron Wilson reporting that Texans will part ways with Mixon and explore a "high end" RB.

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Please be Kenneth Walker.

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I would love for them to add Walker, but I have a hard time believing the Seahawks let him go. Probably would have to really overpay to lure him away.

texasaggie2015 said:

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If this is how the first three rounds play out I would be stoked

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I'm cool with this as long as they address offensive line and running back in free agency. I don't think Bisontis lasts that long, though.

It doesn't need to be Kenneth Walker. They just can't shoot themselves in the foot on this move. Need a 1A to go along with Woody at 1B.

Same. I don't think any of those guys last that long outside of Johnson.

oh no said:

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It doesn't need to be Kenneth Walker. They just can't shoot themselves in the foot on this move. Need a 1A to go along with Woody at 1B.

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Agreed, but after Walker, I'm not sure who that would be. Jets said they're franchising Hall, and I'm not a fan of any of the other free agents.

Snake Jazz said:

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oh no said:

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It doesn't need to be Kenneth Walker. They just can't shoot themselves in the foot on this move. Need a 1A to go along with Woody at 1B.

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Agreed, but after Walker, I'm not sure who that would be. Jets said they're franchising Hall, and I'm not a fan of any of the other free agents.

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While I like Walker, I think you could get a Dowdle or Etienne for half the price and get very similar numbers.

superaggie73 said:

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Snake Jazz said:

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oh no said:

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It doesn't need to be Kenneth Walker. They just can't shoot themselves in the foot on this move. Need a 1A to go along with Woody at 1B.

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Agreed, but after Walker, I'm not sure who that would be. Jets said they're franchising Hall, and I'm not a fan of any of the other free agents.

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While I like Walker, I think you could get a Dowdle or Etienne for half the price and get very similar numbers.

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I think Dowdle is just a guy. Etienne isn't bad, but I would prefer a more physical back. If they sign somebody like Etienne, then I want to draft a guy in the mid rounds who is more of a bruiser.

superaggie73 said:

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Snake Jazz said:

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oh no said:

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It doesn't need to be Kenneth Walker. They just can't shoot themselves in the foot on this move. Need a 1A to go along with Woody at 1B.

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Agreed, but after Walker, I'm not sure who that would be. Jets said they're franchising Hall, and I'm not a fan of any of the other free agents.

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While I like Walker, I think you could get a Dowdle or Etienne for half the price and get very similar numbers.

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I'd go with Dowdle. He was very productive last year and for some reason isn't carrying anywhere near the cache of Walker or Hall. I also like Etienne but he's been too injury prone.

Agreed on Dowdle, though I may take him before Etienne. Neither is a big back we need.

Etienne isn't going to light the world on fire here. Most of his resurgence this year was due to his usage in Liam Coen's system and how Coen creates space. The same way Coen made Bucky Irving. I know Bucky had injury issues this year, but he only had 34 fewer carries than 2024, but had 534 fewer yards. in Coen's system bucky had 2.7 yards before contact per attempt, down to 1.8 this year. That's a massive change. Also had fewer yards after contact down to 1.6 from 2.7...

Etienne mirrors those decreases with his own increases, but not to the same magnitude. If Coen moves on from Etienne, then we should pass.

If there's money for both, sure. But if we have to choose between OL and RB in free agency, I'd rather use the money on the OL. For one, I have much more faith in them identifying a RB in the draft than an OL. For whatever reason, we're not good at evaluating college OL prospects. If we're gonna take the bird in the hand, I'd rather it be on the offensive line.

Two, we have to figure out what we have in CJ this year. OL tend to take longer to develop than RBs. So even if we draft a good one, he may not show it this year. I want the best possible line in front of CJ this year so we can know what to do with him.

JCA1 said:

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If there's money for both, sure. But if we have to choose between OL and RB in free agency, I'd rather use the money on the OL. For one, I have much more faith in them identifying a RB in the draft than an OL. For whatever reason, we're not good at evaluating college OL prospects. If we're gonna take the bird in the hand, I'd rather it be on the offensive line.

Two, we have to figure out what we have in CJ this year. OL tend to take longer to develop than RBs. So even if we draft a good one, he may not show it this year. I want the best possible line in front of CJ this year so we can know what to do with him.

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Both good points.

yes, i believe there are a number of finds in the draft at RB that could pair well with Woody. What a disappointment from Mixon ..but if our window with this great defense is short or closing soon, we need experienced OL, not rookie OL. ...unfortunately, it feels like we're cornered in with the current QB. CJ or bust. He either proves he's serviceable in 2026 or the window closes faster on this team by 2027.

JCA1 said:

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If there's money for both, sure. But if we have to choose between OL and RB in free agency, I'd rather use the money on the OL. For one, I have much more faith in them identifying a RB in the draft than an OL. For whatever reason, we're not good at evaluating college OL prospects. If we're gonna take the bird in the hand, I'd rather it be on the offensive line.

Two, we have to figure out what we have in CJ this year. OL tend to take longer to develop than RBs. So even if we draft a good one, he may not show it this year. I want the best possible line in front of CJ this year so we can know what to do with him.

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Generally, I agree. If we have to choose between OL and RB in free agency, I would rather go oline for the exact reasons you are bringing up. Even when rookie OL are good, they still have ups and downs (see Ersery last year). I would rather bring in quality blockers who know what they're doing and can hit the ground running. It would be a failure to try to fix the OL completely through the draft.

I fear they might have to go with a running back committee approach next year and hope that the whole is greater than the sum of all the parts.

Jerrod gone

Yeah, cause Stroud being a turnover king was Jarrod's fault.

I'm okay with it. Wonder if the Texans know something about Keenum's plans this offseason...

Keenum is the CJ whisperer

If you're implying to hire Keenum as new QB coach I hate it. How about they hire someone with experience and a proven track record of developing qb's?

So we're apparently promoting from within

Quote:

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The team is moving quickly, aiming to fill the position internally with Schuplinski, who is a close confidant of offensive coordinator Nick Caley.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Schuplinski

At least he's been a QB coach before? But it was with the Giants during the Joe Judge years, so.....yeah

The Houston Texans have Jerry Schuplinski already on staff.

He was previously the quarterback coach for the New York Giants.

He was the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Dolphins and Patriots, too.

He's coached a lot with Nick Caley. He's my guess for the official title.

— Cody Stoots (@Cody_Stoots) February 26, 2026

The Texans offensive staff sucks. Stroud sucks. Blow it all up.

IrishAg said:

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So we're apparently promoting from within

Quote:

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The team is moving quickly, aiming to fill the position internally with Schuplinski, who is a close confidant of offensive coordinator Nick Caley.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Schuplinski

At least he's been a QB coach before? But it was with the Giants during the Joe Judge years, so.....yeah

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Well there's the dramatic change that will likely alter Stroud's trajectory that I was hoping to see!

i've seen speculation twice now this morning about mac jones being traded here, and that it's supposedly substantive and not just wishful thinking. not sure i buy it but it would make me feel a lot better about the season if the cost isn't too high.

also i tried a mock draft since the rest of the world is doing it. i am wholly unprepared to be judging late round players but i feel like some of these guys definitely won't be where i got them. oh well. i didn't offer trades but i accepted a few, how would we feel about these players?
28 kadyn proctor ot/og bama
54 emmanuel pregnon og oregon
59 jadarian price rb notre dame
69 gracen halton dt ou
81 jaron kilgore s south carolina
100 eli raridon te notre dame
120 eli stowers te vandy
128 kyle louis lb pitt
154 bryce lance wr nd state
158 jake slaughter c florida

i feel like the first 3 couldn't have worked out better but i don't see reality working out that way, especially with proctor being there. not huge on halton but he projects to be a disruptive 3 technique which would be nice to have. kilgore was mostly just me picking a player i like to watch even if he plays basically the same position as pitre. my hope would be he wins the s job opposite bullock and the starting secondary is even more dominant. i really like both tes if they're on the board that late though i feel like stowers will go way before that, i was surprised to see him not taken. the nd guy is like 7 feet tall and can catch so i've been high on him as a late rd target. caley wants to run more multiple te looks, so its time he got some tight ends. i hope jordan comes back productive but who knows, stover wasn't very good, and dalton doesn't block. i honestly don't think the inept te position outside of dalton schutlz as a receiver gets enough blame for how bad the offense was. brevin jordan was missed badly. anyway louis is a plus coverage mlb that i was impressed by the couple games i saw him and i figure depth at lb is thin. trey lances brother might bust but his ceiling is so high it's worth a gamble imo, plus a vertical threat would be nice that can play outside, higgins and nico aren't exactly burners. and then a likely backup center with a cool name that could maybe win the stater job seemed obvious. the one position i really wanted to grab and didn't was an outside corner since there's nobody i trust behind stingley and lassiter if either gets hurt at all. kilgore can play corner but prob not outside. there were plenty of zone corners available but the man corners i liked never fell to me. i guess thats a fa thing in my make believe offseason here. ol and rb probably aren't fa emergencies if this plays out this way at least. i'd feel ok with that draft.. ecstatic with the first 3 guys particularly