Here’s everything Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said ahead of the first training camp practice of the 2026 NFL season, including an update on wide receiver Tank Dell, the ongoing contract negotiations with quarterback C.J. Stroud and expectations going into the new season.
Question: What’s the status of the injured players and their timelines?
Nick Caserio: “We have a couple of players on the physically unable to perform list, NFI [Non-Football Injury] list. Those are league-determined lists, based on their situation or category. E.J. [Speed] is probably a little bit longer term; we will see where he is later in the season. M.J. [Stewart] is working his way back from the injury he’s sustained against Jacksonville mid-season. He’s making progress. There’s a chance we’ll see him in Training Camp. We’ll see how it goes with him. Then, Jaylin Noel, honestly, it happened three to four days ago. He has got a little bit of an issue with his finger. He was catching passes. Must have caught it the wrong way. His is short-term. I’m not really concerned; it will probably be a few weeks. We’ll see how he progresses. As it pertains to Tank [Dell], he’s not on the PUP list. I’d say Tank has worked really hard to put himself in this position. I’d say he still has some work to do. You’re not going to see him practice, like he won’t be on a practice field. He still has some things he has to go through. The reason that we are keeping him off the list is that it enables him to participate in some drills or activities that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate in if you were on a reserve list or active PUP list. Whether it’s our walk-through, our precision check or some other things. You won’t see him practice. You’re going to watch practice and wonder where Tank is, and say, ‘Wait a minute, Tank’s not practicing.’ It’s by design. He has some ramp-up work that he’s still going to do, but there are some other things we can do with him to incorporate him into some team crossover and walk-through type situations. I just wanted to have some clarification so you had an understanding of those particular situations.”
Question On WR Tank Dell’s progression
Caserio: “It has been just one day at a time. He sustained a pretty significant injury. He hasn’t played football in a really long time. There have been some ups and downs. I’m sure once you have the opportunity to visit with him, he might express those. His attitude has been great. He’s been in the building every day. There are some stops and starts. When you endure an injury of that nature, how significant it was, it’s a long road to come back. It’s a credit to him, it’s a credit to our training staff, the fact that he’s even in a position to where he’s going to have an opportunity here to practice. Tank is a great kid. From the day we drafted him to where he is now, his attitude hasn’t changed. I think he’s probably more anxious than anything else to go back out there. We never pushed it. We never pressed it. We never put any timetable on anything. We let the player work with the training staff. When they’re able to do something that they can do, then we’ll keep progressing. He’s probably got another week or so here of work until we actually see him on a practice field. It’s a credit to him and a lot of people in the organization.”
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud and the possibility of a contract extension
Caserio: “He had a really good offseason. It’s probably the best offseason he’s had since he’s been here. He’s had a good attitude. He’s been consistent. He’s got the right mindset. I’d say we’ve definitely had productive conversations over the course of the spring. There’s a possibility that something could come to fruition. We’ll work through it and see what happens.”
Q: On his expectations for the team this season
Caserio: “The expectations are the same. We can’t control what people say outside of the building. I think we’re proud of the program that we built. I think we’ve been one of the most consistent programs in the NFL over the last three seasons. ‘What is this season going to look like?’ I have no idea. Nobody really has any idea. I think last year as we were sitting up here, ‘Did anybody thought Seattle and New England would be playing in the Super Bowl?’ Our approach is to try to have a good Training Camp, try to take it one day at a time and be consistent with our performance. We want to play with precision, effort and physicality. We want to work on those things in Training Camp. All we can control is our performance day to day. We can’t worry about a month from now, two months from now, four months from now. What’s said outside of the building, we can’t control that. That’s for all the talk shows and radio shows. We try to keep our focus short-term and where we are right now. Just take it one day at a time.”
Q: On why he believes QB C.J. Stroud has had his best offseason
Caserio: “He was here. He was healthy. He’s had a good attitude. He’s had a good approach. I think he started working in February and was here for the full offseason. Every offseason is a little bit different. I’d say year two in the [offensive] system, we’ll build on some of the things that we did last year. He’s had the right approach and he’s had the right mindset. He practiced well. Training Camp is another step for our team. I’d say the spring was a foundation, getting everybody ready for Training Camp. This is the next step for our team in terms of our overall preparation. The reality is we have 19 practices and three preseason games before we play one of the best teams in the NFL in the home opener. We want to keep the whole team moving forward. There is an individual component. A player has to improve and a team has to improve and a unit has to improve. Hopefully we make enough improvement as a team to put ourselves in a position where we have an opportunity to be competitive each Sunday.”
Q: On how he would assess year one in the offense and what needs to be improved
Caserio: “We did a lot of good things offensively. We got off to a slow start as a team. I think probably from about the midpoint of the season till the end, we were one of the better offenses in the league. We played more consistently. We’ll see. We’ll go out there and put a foundation in place. Our system’s in place. We’ll have to make a couple tweaks and adjustments. Nick [Caley] is a really good coach, he has a good attitude, good energy and a lot of respect of the players. Training camp, it’s about the players, but it’s about the coaches as well. Getting back into your routine, calling plays, reacting to the situation. We have a lot of unscripted periods where DeMeco will have the coordinators call plays. You try to prepare, then go back, if this worked maybe make a tweak here. I’d say the core foundation of what we’re going to do offensively will probably be installed within the first two weeks. It’s about what the players do well. What do the players do well? Then we’re going to build a game plan and the offense accordingly. I’m excited about the opportunity Nick has in front of him. Excited about the opportunity for the whole coaching staff.”
Q: On why elevating Jerry Schuplinski to Quarterbacks Coach helps the offense
Caserio: “Jerryhas a lot of experience here, he’s a smart coach. He has a great background in a number of different systems. In the end, DeMeco felt like that was the right thing for us to do. I’m excited about the opportunity Jerry has in front of him.”
Q: On whether contract negotiations are influenced by the past or future
Caserio: “You take all the information in and just try to make the best decision possible, have an understanding of what the market is and what the dynamics are. It’s not necessarily about what other teams are doing. We’re focused on the Texans and we’re focused on what we feel is best for our team. There are a lot of contracts that get done in the offseason. You have free agency, extensions, you have contracts that are done in Training Camp and you have contracts that are done during the course of the season. One of the things that we’ve shown is we’re pretty flexible. We engage in discussions, try to figure out if we can agree upon a certain level that everybody’s comfortable with. If we can arrive at that point, great. If we can’t, maybe it’s a further point down the road. I’d say to your question, we try not to overcomplicate it. Don’t overthink it. Just take the information. We’re making an assessment about what we think potentially we have in the player and what it’s going to look like moving forward. Does it mean we’re going to be right on everything? Absolutely not. We try to make the right decision with the information we have in real time. If we make an adjustment along the way, we’ll make an adjustment.”
Q: On whether during Training Camp he hopes five offensive linemen will emerge
Caserio: “It will probably take a little bit of time here, a few weeks because the reality is the inside positions, you’re going to have a lot of movement. You’re going to have multiple players with their hands on the ball. You’ll have multiple players rotating at the guard spots. I’d say to a certain extent, probably be the same at tackle.I think Tae’ [Ersery], unless something were to happen, he probably would be left tackle. I feel like we have good competition at right tackle with Trent [Brown] and Braden Smith. We have a number of players that can help us inside. It will take a little bit of time.I probably wouldn’t read too much into who lines up where the first day of Training Camp. It’s going to be an evolution; it’s going to be organic. There are going to be things that happen. Guy gets injured, something happens. We’re going to have to make an adjustment.At some point here, hopefully towards the middle, towards the end, we have an idea of who the five are going to be. But the reality is we’re probably going to need eight. There are probably going to be a lot of players that rotate.At some point, as we start to maybe think about getting ready for Buffalo, there are some things that are going to be in place practice-wise. We’ll focus on Buffalo. Hopefully we have a group in place that we think we’re going to be able to play with the first week against Buffalo.”
Q: On whether there will be an emphasis on the run game
Caserio: “You emphasize everything. I think every team goes through an installation. You have your core runs, you have your core passes and you try to marry those up. You try to figure out, ‘It looks like we might be pretty good at this, maybe not as good at that.’ It’s a process. It’s no different this year than it is any other year. What can the players do? What are the players good at? What are some of the things that we feel we can emphasize? You’re always going to have a core foundation that you’re going to want to be able to utilize. Especially the first three or four weeks of the season, you’re probably going to focus on your core, make some game plan adjustments specific to who the opponent is. Hopefully we’re good in the running game. Hopefully we’re good in the passing game. Hopefully we take care of the football. Ultimately, offensively it’s moving the ball, scoring points and taking care of the ball. However we do that. Some games we might have to run it 50 times, some games we might have to throw it 50 times. Whatever the game calls for, whoever the opponent is, hopefully we can bob and weave and play accordingly.”
Q: On if he’ll continue conversations with QB C.J. Stroud’s representation about a potential new contract through the season or table it
Caserio: “We’ll take it one day at a time. We’ve had pretty constructive discussions here over the course of the spring. I’d say it’s a possibility something can happen in Training Camp. If it doesn’t happen in Training Camp, we’ll probably have to make a decision about what we feel makes the most sense. We try to take it one day at a time. If we reach an end point, great. If we don’t, I think everybody understands what that will entail as well.”
Q: On the goal for the starting offensive line
Caserio: “You’re going to have five players that you’re going to put out there Week 1. You’re going to have five starters. Then whoever six, seven and eight are, they’re going to have to fill the backup roles, understanding those players might have to go in and play extensive snaps, two, three, four or five games, whatever the case may be. You’re going to see a lot of people, a lot of players in and out at multiple positions. Talking about the offensive line, there’s competition there. I would say there’s competition at the punting position as well. We have two players there. We are probably not going to have two punters on the team. If we do, we’re probably not making a real smart decision. We’ll get through the first couple weeks of camp, get a lot of people in and out. We’ll evaluate. The coaching staff will evaluate. The personnel staff will evaluate. We’re making sure we’re making the right decision, understanding whoever is in this building the expectation is they’re probably going to play meaningful football for us at some point. We’ll try to keep those players in the building as best we can.”
Q: On the punter competition being two young players instead of adding a veteran
Caserio: “I’d say in our particular case, you have two young players. Kai [Kroeger] is going into his second year. He was in this situation last year, in a competition in New Orleans and he ended up winning it. Jack [Stonehouse] is a player we identified we wanted to work with. They’re two young players that have a good attitude. At some point we’re probably going to have to make a decision so that we can allocate time, reps and holding. That’s a big part of it, as well, relative to Ka’imi [Fairbairn]. I feel like they’re two young guys we want to work with here. At some point we’re probably going to have to make a determination, probably before the end of Training Camp, so that we can allocate time and resources in that particular individual to get them ready to go.”
Q: On how he believe QB C.J. Stroud has handled criticism in the past
Caserio: “I think he’s handled it well. I think human nature is people are going to form opinions, good or bad of you. That’s just the nature of the world in which we live. How you choose to handle that, we all handle it differently individually. C.J. is a good kid. He cares a lot about playing good football. He cares a lot about this team and this organization. However he chooses to handle it, I’m sure he has a good team around him that’s counseled him about how to handle things. Our job as a coach, general manager, organization, is to support our players. We’re always going to support our players. We’re going to be there for whatever they need. Everybody’s got an opinion this day and age, right, wrong or indifferent. I’m sure people have an opinion of me. No problem. Respectfully, I don’t really care. I’m not really in the opinion business. What I try to do is just show up, have a good attitude, do the best I can every day. I think that’s all anybody can ask of anybody else. I would just say this, when you’re not in a building, when you’re not with an individual on a day-to-day basis, you really don’t have all the information. You can make judgments and cast aspersions and say whatever you’re going to say, but sometimes it’s out of context. That’s the world in which we live. How every individual handles that, how they process that, they’re going to do whatever they feel is the best thing for them. I love having C.J. here. I’m glad he’s our quarterback. We’re going to support him like we’re going to support our other players and do whatever we can to help them, make them the best version of themselves.”
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud and LB Will Anderson Jr.’s maturity and leadership skills
Caserio: “It’s growing each year. Every young kid when we drafted them, I don’t know how old they are, three, four years into their career. There’s a maturation process. Have a good attitude. Leadership comes in different shapes and sizes. I think sometimes people think leadership is one thing. Leaderships about action. It’s not necessarily about words. Your actions are ultimately what people are going to see and ultimately what they need to be defined by. What are your habits day to day? That’s how you earn the respect of your teammates and those that are around you. But I’d say from where they started to where they are now, they’ve grown by leaps and bounds. I’d say they are their own individuals. They have different ways, different personalities and they have different leadership qualities. Leadership comes in many different shapes and sizes. We are very fortunate to have been around a lot of good leaders. I think our head coach has a certain way. When he was a player, his leadership style was maybe different than from someone else. I don’t think I’m stepping out of line here when I say that DeMeco [Ryans] is probably one of the best leaders this organization has had as a player and I would say that has continued in his role as a head coach. It’s a different type of leadership maybe, but a lot of those qualities have carried through. They’ve definitely grown. You’ve seen them come into their own as men. They’ve gone from young kids to, they’re grown-ass men. That’s what they are.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans GM Nick Caserio said ahead of training camp
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cole Thompson, Texans Wire | USA TODAY Network
