Here is everything Houston TexansExecutive Vice President and General Manager Nick Caserio said following Houston’s 27-21 overtime loss to the New York Giants, including whether he believes the roster is built for success, whether there will be any personnel changes and quarterback C.J. Stroud’s contract situation.
Caserio opening statement: “Good Morning. I appreciate everybody being here. 2-5, we are where we are. Definitely can play better. We certainly could do a number of things better collectively, myself included. We’ll try to take advantage here of the bye week, look at some of the things we're doing well, look at some of the areas we can improve. Honestly, not to boil this down to simplicity, it comes back to basic fundamentals and techniques.
Tackling is tackling. You're either a good tackler or you're not. We can do some things relative to hidden yardage in some of the areas. But one of the worst penalized teams in the league, one of the worst tackling teams in the league. If we can make some incremental progress in some of those areas, then can potentially lead to a better result. The reality is, look, we're 2-5. Lost four games on the last possession. What are some of the things we can do on the margin to potentially improve to see if we can finish those games. We're 1-4 in one-score games, whatever it was. We were able to pull out the Jacksonville game because we executed critical situations. It's where we are. There's no reason to mope around and wallow in our sorrows. This is the NFL. A lot of good teams, a lot of good players. We can certainly make some improvements. If we make some improvements, we'll see if the results are better. I think that's what the focus is going to be here this week.”
Question: On whether he believes the roster is constructed for success
Nick Caserio: “You go into the off-season, you put together the team that you feel makes the most sense. Once the season starts, then try to figure out maybe some need to play more, some need to play less, what are some of the different things we can do. The team is what the team is. We're not going to see significant change relative to personnel till the off-season. We'll go back and look at part of our responsibility, look at some of the things we did, some of the decisions we made, what could we have done a little bit differently. It's kind of revisionist history. We put the team together because we feel like that's the right decision at the time. When you make those decisions, you're not really focused on what do you think the result is going to be record-wise. It's let's put together the best team. Ultimately, you have to go out there and try to play good football. At times we in the end collectively as a team haven't played as consistently as we would have liked to from start to finish. We've kind of done it in pockets. It's been a little disjointed at different points. We just have to see if we can play. [Head Coach] DeMeco [Ryans] has talked about this a little bit, just play better complementary football as an overall team. If we do that, then maybe the result will be a little bit different. Again, we've put ourselves in position to win every game, other than the Cincinnati game, which was tough sledding there. Every other game we've had an opportunity to win and we have been able to capitalize. Credit to the other team, they made more plays. That's the reality of the NFL. That's the way this goes sometimes.”
Q: On whether there will be any personnel changes
Caserio: “We'll see. We'll look at it. If we feel it's appropriate, great. Then what's the alternative. We'll look at everything. We're not going to make any knee-jerk decisions on the heels of what happened yesterday. We'll go through the week. We'll take inventory. DeMeco will take time with the coaching staff, talk through different things, whether it's schematically, personnel-wise. We'll try to figure out what's the best formula moving forward. Honestly, it's going to probably change week to week as injuries are going to be a part of it, who is available, who is not available, who is coming back, some of those types of things. We'll take the information in present time and try to make a decision that we feel makes the most sense for that particular week.”
Q: On whether he is surprised with the record to start the season
Caserio: “2-5. Look, our expectations are the same. Come in, it's a week-to-week league. Who the opponent is, what we got to do that week. In the end you either make enough plays or you don't. That approach is not going to change. We're going to look at it the same way today as we would last week. You win or lose. Try to figure out what happened during the course of the game. In the end, nobody knows what's going to happen. I certainly don't. Maybe you all know what's going to happen on a weekly basis. I certainly don't. You try to put together the team, then go out there and you either make enough plays or you don't. I don't want to oversimplify it, but that's what it is.”
Q: On how he can improve
Caserio: “Just making sure we have the right people in the building. If we don't, then we got to find other people. We've talked about this. There are different segments of the team building: off-season, March, April, May, is when the bulk of the team building takes place. We'll always look at that. If there's something we can do better, we'll try to figure out if that makes sense. During the course of the season, it's sort of a little bit more week to week. The pool of players that's available potentially could be limited. You're not going to overhaul your team. You're going to try to take the group that you have, try to make it work. If that doesn't work, then you got to pivot and do something else. I'm sure there's some players here that won't be here next season. That's just part of the cyclicality of this. That's where we are.”
Q: On whether he anticipates making moves at the trade deadline and his evaluation of the offensive line
Caserio: “Every opportunity we'll look at it. If it makes sense, great. If not, so...we've had conversations. We've talked to most of the league here. Teams have started to reach out here a little bit trying to figure out, like, ‘What are you looking for? Where is the surplus? Where do you potentially have a need?’ We'll always be open-minded. We're not going to eliminate anything. We'll listen, do what we feel makes the most sense. As it pertains to the offensive line, probably been a little bit up and down. At times it has been okay. At times it can be better. I think we have talked about this internally at different points. We just got to do a better job finishing blocks. We're attached, sometimes we're there, but sometimes we don't really have it all the way till the end of the play. We just got to do a better job of staying at task, staying finished. Again, we have a number of players at that position. 11 offensive linemen on the roster. Probably as much as any. Some guys that have been injured, some guys that are coming back. We'll look at it and try to figure out and figure out if it's the best five. If not, let's try to do something else.”
Q: On how he feels this roster is meshing with the goal of its construction
Caserio: “We've always prided ourselves on trying to play physical football, being physically tough, try to win at the line of scrimmage, win at the front. We felt when we put the team together, we'd have an opportunity to do so. In the end, we've kind of come up short in some of these games. Again, we feel like we have enough players here that can help us win games. Again, I don't want to speak for the players, but a lot of them probably will tell you they can play better as well, they can do their jobs a little bit better. We've had some individually do their job pretty good. Collectively we haven't always done our job as an overall unit. That's probably why we are where we are. We have some gaps. We'll see what happens here over the duration of the season. We'll see if we can kind of play together collectively as a team. I know we're kind of looking at this like half empty, but the reality is we've lost four games on the last possession. We put ourselves in a position to win those games. We just haven't really in the end executed and made enough plays to win. It's the reality of it. I don't want to make it more than what it is. This is the NFL.”
Q: On why he believes the defense has struggled compared to last season
Caserio: “Yeah, every year's different. One year doesn't have any bearing on what happens. The '25 team was the '25 team. The '26 team is where we are. There's really no correlation between what happened last year and where we are this year, other than like we haven't played good enough collectively as a team. That's the reality of it. We all look at ourselves in the mirror, that's what it is.”
Q: On what the defense is not doing specifically
Caserio: “We're the worst team in the league in tackling. Too many missed tackles. Giving up too many explosive plays. Take those two areas right there. If we tackle better and we give up less explosive plays, then probably see a better result defensively. Taking the ball away. We haven't really taken the ball away. We've done a really good job offensively of taking care of the ball. Pretty close, but I think the least number of turnovers in the league. We've done a pretty good job of possessing the ball, taking care of the ball. We haven't taken the ball. Takeaways, we haven't taken the ball away. Missing too many tackles. We have given up too many explosive plays, which is why probably we haven't played as well as we're capable of defensively.”
Q: On whether he feels the team is where it needs to be schematically
Caserio: “It is a week-to-week league. What a team does, like who we are playing, what are we trying to defend, what are we trying to play against offensively, what are we trying to attack. We have plenty of players, we have plenty of scheme. We just have to execute. We have to execute a little bit better. If we execute a little bit better, the result can be different.”
Q: On whether he is pleased with the team schematically
Caserio: “We have enough scheme. In the end, like, we don't have defensive calls where the calls are to let the receiver run open. If the defense calls for it to be pressed, to reroute the receiver at the line of scrimmage, you don't reroute the receiver at the line of scrimmage, letting them go to the route, ‘Is that a scheme issue? Is that a player issue?’”
Q: On whether opposing coordinators have been a step ahead
Caserio: “If there are some specific examples, I haven't seen too many relative to here is our call, here is the play that they run. We have a call and something accounted for in every play. If we're playing with the wrong leverage, too far off the receiver, we're not rerouting the receiver when we practiced all week rerouting the receiver, I don't think that's a result of the coordinator made a good call on the other side of the ball. We just have to do a better job of actually executing the call. Are there some plays schematically that they've drawn up that they have been able to hit some plays? Yeah, I mean, that's what the NFL is. We have good coaches, good players. In the end collectively, if we improve a little bit overall what we're doing, then the result could be different.”
Q: On whether he believes QB C.J. Stroud is betting on himself by not being signed this off-season
Caserio: “You can ask C.J. what his thoughts are. We had really good discussions. We were pretty close. We weren't able to consummate an agreement. I don't think anybody's really too worried about it. Let's say he's going out there, honestly he's played really good football, which isn't a surprise of anybody. I think there are very few people, maybe DeMeco, myself, who supported him all off-season when he was essentially bad-mouthed for like four months about one bad half of football. I think the way he handled himself, how he's approached it, speaks to who he is. Not a surprise to any of us. I think the contract will take care of itself, whenever that is. We were close. We didn't get it over the finish line. I don't think that's going to dissuade anybody moving forward from ultimately reaching an agreement, whenever that is.”
Q: On whether he would have tried harder for QB C.J. Stroud to sign a contract if he knew how he would play
Caserio: “I think everybody made their best effort. Kind of came up a little bit short. I don't think anybody's surprised with how he's played. The guy's a good quarterback. He's been a good quarterback since he's been in the league. I know sometimes everybody kind of looks at it through a different lens. The guy's played really good football since he's been in the league. That's just the reality of it. We have talked about that. That's how DeMeco and I feel. That's what we've said. I don't know how many times I got asked about it, talked about his professionalism, his performance, his attitude, how he worked this off-season. I think you're seeing a direct correlation between the work he put in in the off-season and the results on the field. It's a credit to him. It's not surprising at all. We're glad he's our quarterback.”
Q: On how Chair and Chief Executive Officer Cal McNair Chief Community Officer and Vice President of the Houston Texans Foundation Hannah McNair feel about the start to the season
Caserio: “I'm sure you guys talk to them probably more than I do. They want to see us win. They support us. In the end they just want to see us win football games. Appreciate their support. We talk. Sometimes it's weekly, ‘Hey, what went on? What happened? What do you need?’ Cal is great, basically, ‘What do you need?’ To have that kind of support and that perspective from ownership, it says a lot, means a lot. Ultimately, they believe in the job that we're trying to do. That's all we can ask is for their support. That's all we can do, is do the best we can to help the organization. I think since I was hired in '21, that's all I've tried to do on a day-to-day basis. That's not going to stop.”
Q: On whether he feels that he has helped build the best roster possible for success
Caserio: “We tried to put the best team together that we felt made the most sense, try to take advantage of our opportunities. Each year's going to be a little bit different. We'll look at what we're doing, what are our opportunities, what are our options, who's available, where are the resources going. Try to be smart and judicious about how we make those decisions. We'll continue to do that.”
Q: On how he feels this year’s draft class is progressing
Caserio: “Yeah, they're all kind of different stages. [C/G] Keylan [Rutledge] probably has played the most. He's been out there for every snap. He's certainly, say, made progress. Has some things that he can improve. ‘K-Mac’ [DT Kayden McDonald] basically missed Training Camp, missed the first four games. He's kind of in the early part of the season. But he's been out there. He's made some plays. [TE Marlin] Klein has done a good job. We got a lot of numbers there at the tight end position. He's had a good attitude. He's going to get some opportunities here at some point, I'm sure. I think Keylan is the one that's kind of played the most. The other guys have kind of been more in roles. [S Kamari] Ramsey has played a little bit more here defensively. Played a little bit in the kicking game. Overall, there are various stages. I think your assessment is astute. We'll have a better idea of where some of these guys are like a year from now, two years from now. Glad that we have the players that we have here. At some point they get the opportunity. That's all they can do is just make the most of the opportunity whenever they get it.”
Q: On why there is no want for change on the defense
Caserio: “Well, I don't think anybody's saying we're not changing things, whether it's personnel, whether it's something we could a little bit differently. I think that perspective, I don't want to speak for DeMeco, you can ask him, but he has strong belief in the players, strong belief in the team. He's expressed that. We believe in our players. We believe we're capable of having a good football team. In the end, the results are what the results have been. We can't change what's happened. All we can do is focus on where we are today and keep the focus on where we are moving forward. Like I said, try to have a good week here this week. The following week, try to get ready for a good Chargers team, which I'd say in some respects they're like us: they're probably better than what their record is. But it's just the reality of how this goes sometimes. I think DeMeco has a lot of belief and confidence in our football players. He's not afraid to express that. Certainly, support him 100% on that.”
Q: On whether he believes C/G Keylan Rutledge is the best offensive lineman
Caserio: “At times. I think we've had some guys that have kind of played a little up and down, some guys start to finish have been I'd say okay. He's done some good things. He's kind of going through probably some growing pains there. Braden played, whatever it was, 25 snaps there yesterday, without [T] Blake [Fisher]. It was kind of his first opportunity to play. I think he's a good player. Think he's going to be a good player. Certainly, can do some things better. He can certainly improve. We're glad he's here. Think he's going through some ups and downs like most young players, most rookies do.”
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud contract negotiations
Caserio: “Nobody was reluctant on anything. We had discussions. We made an offer. All right, couldn't quite come to final resolution or agreement. That happens. It's not the first time, it's not the last time. Not going to be the first time. Again, nobody's discouraged. I have a lot of respect for C.J. and David [Mulugheta] and their group. I mean, I'm sure at some point that will take care of itself.”
Q: On why he was comfortable trading WR Marvin Harrison Jr. for a second-round draft pick
Caserio: “In the end we felt comfortable making the transaction. Felt it was a player, if we had the opportunity to work with. I think some of it is you have an opportunity to get a player for this year, next year, potentially a year beyond that based on kind of what happens here this year. Considering compensation, you are either comfortable making that decision or you're not. We felt like in the end we're comfortable making that move. Glad he's here. Probably going to have a better idea a little towards the back half of the year like where are we. We have a player under contract next season for sure, then you potentially have him under contract for an extra year beyond that. Some of that is contingent on what happens here this season. I think kind of look at everything, factor everything in, then make a decision. You're either comfortable paying the compensation or you're not. In the end we felt like we were comfortable doing it. That's why we made the trade.”
Q: On what the second-round pick in the WR Marvin Harrison Jr. trade would have been used for
Caserio: “I don't think anybody's really worried about the draft right now. There are a lot of ways that you can recoup picks at some point along the way, whether it's this year or whether it's in the off-season. I don't think anybody's really too worried about not having that pick. If we end up having that pick somewhere along the line, great. If we don't, then there's other mechanisms we can look to fill the team.”
Q: On the use of a draft pick in trades
Caserio: “I would say just kind of looking at the landscape, just from the information that I have, I'm sure there are not too many players where I would say draft pick is going to be relevant or was going to be relevant. Again, that's all we can do, is go off of information at the present time. Look, as things change, maybe two, three weeks from when we did the trade, maybe, but it's just the reality of where it goes. I think when we made a decision at the time it was more of here is where we are, here is the opportunity. Feel comfortable, great. If not...my suspicion is we probably weren't going to be trading a second-round pick November 11th for another player. I could be wrong, but I think that was part of the calculus that went into it.”
Q: On how he would explain the difference in play this year compared to last year
Caserio: “Every year is going to be different. Being honest, some of our good players, better players, probably haven't played as well as they're capable of. It's just the reality of it. I don't think there’s a better answer than that. Again, every year's different. The '25 team was the '25 team. The '26 team, this is where we are with the '26 team. I think the focus is on trying to improve. That's all of us, individually, collectively. I think that's where the focus is. Again, everybody just tries to make an extrapolation sometimes. That's fair, I understand that. But it's not just the reality of how it goes. Like every year is different. Every week is different. You guys all look around the league, what goes on each week, it's different every week. That's just the reality of the NFL.”
Q: On seeing WR Tank Dell play
Caserio: “On a personal standpoint, it's a pretty cool moment to see a player who's honestly probably had as close to a career-ending injury as anybody, put in however many months he put in. It speaks to really the individual and the person. Pretty cool moment. Obviously the fans kind of felt a certain way, as well. In the end there's still a human element. I know it's football, we kind of take the human element out, but there is a human element. For him to be recognized and to put him in that position, pretty cool moment. I'm sure everybody will look at it pretty favorably. Now we'll see if he can kind of continue to build on a good step one, see where the rest of the season here goes. All you can do is hope that you stay healthy. I mean, nothing's more important than your health. It's pretty cool for him to go out there and to make a contribution as well. Had the reception there. Went back during the punt return, which I'm sure everybody was nervous when he went back there on punt returns. He got plus 11, 12 yards, which that's all we ask on a punt return so we can get a first down. Pretty cool moment for Tank, for sure.”
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud contract negotiations
Caserio: "Look, I don't have anything else to add. I mean, we negotiated. We went back and forth. We didn't reach an agreement. No hard feelings. Everybody moved forward. I think everybody feels good about where we are. At some point I would expect an agreement to be figured out. I'm not sure this is like that complicated."
Q: On the free agent acquisitions
Caserio: "Again, [T] Braden [Smith] hadn't been healthy, so this is his first opportunity for him to play. Kind of take him out of the equation. I think when we made the [G Wyatt] Teller acquisition, we kind of weren't sure where we were on the offensive line. It was an opportunity to get an experienced player who if wasn't a starter, then he probably would be a good backup. Three for two situation there at guard. Ended up being that. I don't think anybody knew we were going to draft [C/G Keylan] Rutledge when we did it. They're kind of independent transactions. You get the team. In the end we're going to put the guys out there in the composition that we feel makes the most sense. Wyatt has been great to work with. He has had a good attitude. He's had to go in there and play a little bit at different points. Glad that he's here. [S] Reed [Blankenship], he's said this, probably week one didn't play that well. I would say the subsequent weeks he's playing good football, playing more assertive, playing more consistent. He had one of his better games there against Jacksonville. Made some plays, then got hurt. If you want to look at a small snapshot of what's going on in four or five games, go ahead and do that. I don't think anybody's discouraged. At some point the picture could change here for the duration of the season. If they get an opportunity, then see what they can do with it."
Q: On scouting players looking at tackling
Caserio: "Yeah, I would say tackling in the end is a mindset. I mean, you can scout it all you want. It's a mentality. You either want to throw your body on someone, which is kind of what we teach, body on body, initiate the contact. I mean, part of our issues is we're not wrapping, we're not driving, we're not finishing. Tackling is a mindset. In the end it's about your mentality, it's about physical toughness. There's a certain mental toughness element about it, as well. As far as penalties, it's just focus and discipline. Can you look for that, can you see that? Again, even some of our better players are making some of those errors. It's just you have to be a little bit more intentional in some of those areas. Can you look forward to your question? Yes and no. But ultimately it's a mentality and it's a mindset. I think then you're looking for the player's mentality and mindset to see if they have what it takes. Honestly, look, some players are tough and some aren't. It's just the reality of it."
Q: On the offensive line being inconsistent
Caserio: "I don't really have a good answer. Try to put the guys out there that we feel are the best and give them the opportunity. Sometimes it's a matchup situation, like their guy is better than our guy. Okay, can we do something a little bit different? Again, we've done a decent job in pass protection this season. The run blocking has been a little bit more about finishing than anything else. If there's a change to be made, we'll make it. If there's not, we'll see if we can make an adjustment somewhere else."
Q: On bringing in players for the scheme or individual player
Caserio: "Yeah, I think it's always trying to figure out, 'Here is the player, here is what he does well, here's his strengths, here's his weakness.' Once you get that player here, here is what we're going to ask them to do. Again, you always have to start with the player and just kind of focus on some of the things that they do. I wouldn't say that players are sort of scheme-agnostic or they can only play in this scheme. A lot of players can play in a lot of different offenses, defenses. You've seen that throughout the league, too. In the end it's what are they being asked to do, then do they have the traits and the skills and the characteristics that enable them to have success."
Q: On what went into bringing in WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and WR Kayshon Boutte and what that means for other wide receivers’ extensions
Caserio: "I'll start with the second question first. The solution is we just have to play more consistent football. If we can make some improvements on the margins, some of the areas that we've talked about, then we can potentially see a better result. As it pertains to the first question, I think if we looked at it here's an opportunity to get a good player, then our job ultimately, let's just get as many good players in the building as possible, then we'll kind of figure it out. Not necessarily get too caught up in contractual situations, understanding that all can change. You may think it's going to go one way and then you get to the off-season, you get to a different point, it's not like you're playing kind of duck duck goose, we're going to do this because this is going to happen. It's hard to say that. It's hard to determine that. Free agency is kind of an entity in and of itself. You're going to lose a player, then, 'Hey, here's the player. Here's the opportunity in front of us. Does this make sense? Okay.' DeMeco and I talked about that one for a couple weeks. Ultimately we said here is the situation, here is what the compensation is associated with it. Are we comfortable? Okay, great. Let's go ahead and make the decision. I'd say that's what went into it."
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans GM Nick Caserio said of the franchise at the bye week
