5 teams who should pursue Le’Veon Bell in the offseason

1. Houston Texans

With ample cap space last offseason, the Texans were easy to point to as a possible free agent suitor for Bell. But they didn’t go all-in like that, standing pat before making a trade for Duke Johnson in early August and then making a deal for Carlos Hyde when Lamar Miller went down with a torn ACL later that month.

Since Brian Gaine was fired after little more than a year a general manager last spring, head coach Bill O’Brien has essentially added the role to his primary duties. Trades to get offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and unload defensive end Jadeveon Clowney seem to show clearly who’s running that show right now, for better or worse with what’s been labeled as a “flatter” (more collaborative?) situation by Texas chairman and CEO Cal McNair.

The Texans are poised to hire Nick Caserio away from the New England Patriots front office after this season, and he’ll presumably be the new general manager. A trade for Bell may be something the savviest of executives may be hesitant to do. But O’Brien never seems too far from the hot seat, and Houston is flush with cap space again in 2020 ($85.83 million, fourth-most in the league-via Over The Cap). That points to an active offseason, possibly with a trade for Bell as the centerpiece.