How the Texans Replace Denico Autry After Veteran’s 6-Game Suspension

Denico Autry began his NFL career all the way back in 2014, with the Oakland Raiders. He showed glimpses of his potential there, but it took him a bit of time to really get his feet wet and get comfortable at the NFL level.

After joining the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, we started to see that happen. Since then, Autry has been a consistent force in the middle of the line. Although Autry is going to turn 34 during the 2024 season, he seems to have gotten better with age, as he posted a career-high in sacks for the Tennessee Titans in 2023 (11.5), his 10th year in the league.

Autry became a free agent this offseason, and he quickly found a new home with the division-rival Houston Texans, signing a two-year, $20 million deal with the team.

Unfortunately for both Autry and the Texans, he was recently suspended for the first six games of the 2024 season, after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers:

The Texans now have a hole they need to fill. Here are some possible ways they could replace Autry’s production during the time he’ll miss.

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Potential Replacements for Autry

Here are some options, both in-house, and on the market, to replace Autry

The Texans would have liked to have Autry for the first portion of the season, but they’ve still got some talent on the defensive line that they can rely on. On the edges, they have Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., who are both very talented rushers.

However, Autry’s presence would have been felt the most in the interior portion of the defensive line, and the Texans don’t have a ton of depth there. With that in mind, here are some options the Texans can look towards to replace his production.

Potential In-House Options

If the Texans want to keep it simple, they have a couple of players on the depth chart that could make a difference. Their likeliest candidates are Jerry Hughes and Derek Barnett.

Hughes has been in the league for quite some time now, as he’s about to enter his 15th year. Up until now, though, he’s defeated father time. In his last season as a full-time starter in 2022, Hughes recorded nine sacks and ten tackles for a loss. With Autry out of the rotation, he could see some more playing time at the beginning of the 2024 season.

The only other candidate aside from Anderson, Hunter, and Hughes would be Barnett. Over the past couple of seasons, he hasn’t necessarily stuffed the stat-sheet, but he’s put together solid seasons before, with 6.5 sacks in 2019, and 5.5 sacks in 2020. If he can find that form again, that could go a long way in helping fill the hole left by Autry’s absence.

Options in Free Agency

As per usual for the month of July in any offseason, the free agent market has mostly dried up at this point. However, there are two players that the Texans could fancy, if they choose to solve their problem through free agency.

The first is Lawrence Guy. Guy is relatively versatile, able to play in both the inside and outside positions on the defensive line. He’s never been much of a pass-rusher, with his single-season career-high in sacks standing at just 4.5. However, Guy is an excellent run-stopper with 507 career tackles, and he can help clog up the middle, giving Anderson and Hunter space to work on the edges.

Aside from Guy, the only other quality option would be Hassan Ridgeway. Ridgeway was a former starter with the San Francisco 49ers, but he’s missed a large portion of the past two seasons dealing with injuries. He was actually with the Texans in 2023, before he tore his Achilles.

The Texans might want to bring him back now, with Autry set to miss six games.

How Has Autry Produced Over the Past Couple of Seasons?

Just how much will the Texans miss Autry over their first six games?

To put it bluntly, there’s a reason Autry’s suspension is such a big deal for the Texans. In their eyes, they grabbed a talented defensive tackle from a divisional rival this offseason, who would fit excellently alongside their two edge rushers. Now, they’ll be without a rather significant amount of production for the first third of the season.

Autry has really developed into a force on the defensive line, and has become one of the most consistently productive defensive tackles in the game over the past few seasons.

While the Texans will get him back for their seventh game, they’ll certainly miss him before that, and Houston will need to find a way to replace his production if they want to make good on their expectations of contending for a Super Bowl in 2024.

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

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