There are people out there who believe that the Houston Texans will make one of the biggest moves of the offseason by trading away starting quarterback C.J. Stroud. I understand the impulse to talk about a Stroud trade, and I even think there are scenarios where the Texans should consider doing it, but the reality of the NFL is that you don't actually end up moving on from a player like Stroud. It's too hard to find a good quarterback, so you need to keep a guy if there's even a chance he winds up being good.
While Stroud will likely be taking snaps for the Texans next season, not every player on the roster will, and that includes some of the starters from the 2025 team. From overpaid and injured guys to players who are good enough to come back as depth but shouldn't be counted on as starters, here are five Texans who won't be starting for the team in 2026.
WR Christian Kirk
The decision to trade for Christian Kirk was a fine one, but Houston's decision to draft Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel last year probably makes re-signing Kirk too much of a luxury.
Kirk caught 28 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown in his lone season with the Texans. It was the worst statistical season of his career by a pretty wide margin, as he finished with fewer yards in 13 games than he had in eight games with the Jaguars in 2024. While he did come up big in the playoff win over the Steelers, catching eight passes for 144 yards and a score, and added a touchdown in the playoff loss to New England as well, it was too little, too late as far as how it impacts his future in Houston.
Another factor here: Houston expects Tank Dell back in 2026. Injuries have limited Dell to just 25 games across his first three NFL seasons, but when healthy, he's a game-breaking receiver due to his ability to get open deep. There's no guarantee that he bounces back or that he can stay healthy for a full season, but assuming Houston remains high on Dell, it's another reason not to invest money in a Kirk extension.
RT Trent Brown
Offensive line remains a concern for the Texans and right tackle is an obvious spot to upgrade. Trent Brown, who started all seven games he played in 2025, was fine in the role, but re-signing a 33-year-old journeyman to be your starter isn't how you improve your offensive line.
If Houston wants to bring Brown back on a cheap deal for depth, great! That's what Brown was supposed to be in 2025 anyway, so it'd be a fine move. But as far as the starting position goes, Houston needs to find a replacement. Maybe you try to poach Braden Smith from the Colts or Jonah Williams from the Cardinals in free agency, or maybe you stick with a value guy but go for someone younger like Seattle's Josh Jones or Miami's Larry Borom.
Or you try to draft a replacement. Houston picks 28th overall, then also has an early second from the Laremy Tunsil trade. That's two early opportunities to draft an offensive tackle, maybe someone like Georgia's Monroe Freeling?
RB Nick Chubb
The biggest concern about Nick Chubb in 2025 was that injuries were going to sap his ability to plow through defenders enough that he wouldn't be effective anymore. I'd say those concerns were mostly true. Compare 2025 to his last fully healthy season, 2022.
Rushing Yards | Touchdowns | Yards Per Carry | Broken Tackles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | 1,525 | 12 | 5.0 | 28 |
2025 | 506 | 3 | 4.1 | 5 |
Age and injury have transformed Chubb into a fundamentally different player than he was earlier in his career, and that showed in Houston's short-yardage rushing numbers. Houston had the third-worst red zone touchdown percentage in the NFL because the run game couldn't generate the needed push to get into the end zone. That's partially on the offensive line, but Chubb's inability to finish through contact contributed to it. Chubb had 13 red zone carries and produced just 20 yards. Woody Marks had more red zone attempts, but that really says even more about where Chubb is at right now. If he were remotely close to his old self, Houston would have given him the ball more down near the goal line.
Houston can't go into 2026 with a Marks-Chubb rotation at running back, and considering Marks will be entering his second NFL season, he's not the one who needs to go. The Texans need to move on from Chubb. It was a good attempt to improve the run game, but it didn't work.
RB Joe Mixon
Consider this a bonus player, since Joe Mixon didn't take a snap in 2025 as injury kept the former Bengals star sidelined. After a strong first season with the Texans, hopes were high for Mixon in 2025. He finished 2024 with 1,016 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, providing Houston with a dimension to its offense that it wound up lacking in 2025.
So, why not bring Mixon back? Financials are part of it. Mixon is due $10.5 million next season, but Houston can save all but $2 million of that by cutting him. With the team starting the offseason over the cap, this is an easy move to claw back some cap space.
And even if the money wasn't an issue, Mixon just missed a full season with a foot injury. Sure, he could bounce back from it without much issue, but it's not guaranteed. For a team that definitely needs to get better at running back, you can't take the risk with Mixon at this point.
S M.J. Stewart
Calen Bullock manned one safety position all season for the Texans, but the other was a revolving door. Jimmie Ward never played a snap. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was quickly cut by the team. M.J. Stewart provided solid snaps for a while before a quad injury ended his season.
Before going down, Stewart appeared in nine games, starting four of them. He had two pass defenses and a forced fumble. There's a solid argument to be made that it was the best season of Stewart's NFL career, though that doesn't mean going into 2026 with him as the starter is Houston's best move.
Stewart returning to Houston on a cheap deal would be fine if, like with a theoretical Trent Brown return, it was to provide depth, not to be the starter. He's been with the Texans for four years, so his familiarity with the defense is a plus. However, he'd also be the clear weak link in this elite defense. I don't think the Texans need to go out and spend big on a replacement, but if you can find a team looking to unload a veteran for a late pick or the right player falls in the draft, it'd make sense to at least attempt to upgrade over Stewart.