The Houston Texans came up short against the one seed Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. C.J. Stroud and the offense struggled all throughout and the team’s only touchdown came on a 67 yard punt return. Lamar Jackson did indeed look like the MVP, doing it all to help his team win by over 20 points.

The Texans were not expected to make it this far with a rookie quarterback and coach, however they defeated the odds and made it to the divisional round. Unfortunately for Houston, nearly half of the team is set to be free agents in the offseason.

Texans look to improve after mistakes and penalties lead to loss to  Panthers | AP News

Of course, many players will get re-signed, but 25 players set to hit free agency is a large number by any standards. The most notable names on this list are Dalton Schultz, Devin Singletary, Denzel Perryman, Adrian Amos, Derek Barnett, and Ka’imi Fairbairn.

The Texans should focus on re-signing key starters like the ones listed above. It is likely they won’t be able to retain all of their starters but after their success this season, players may choose to come back on a discount. The list of all free agents is as follows:

Some of these positions are more vital to keep around. The Texans have $74 million in cap space as they are one of the lucky teams who does not have a QB under contract for $40+ million. With that cap space, the team could sign many of their free agents back. The top four that they should retain are Devin Singletary, Dalton Schultz, Denzel Perryman, and Derek Barnett.

Texans look to improve after mistakes and penalties lead to loss to  Panthers | AP News

Singletary finally got the chance to show how explosive he was, after signing a deal with Houston last offseason. The halfback has played well enough to deserve a contract extension. Stroud seems very comfortable having him in the backfield as well as the big target down the field in Schultz.

After signing these two, the team should have $60 million in cap space left approximately. The next target would be the field general of this defense in Perryman. Like Singletary, he played well when wearing the Texan on his helmet. Him and Barnett are cornerstones on this defense that made many plays this season. From here, Houston should still have some space left to sign other free agents, whether returning, or not.