I looked up the 2025 cap numbers and the reworked Diggs contract. I thought it was questionable at the time trading a 2nd round pick for Diggs (a potential malcontent), then even stupider that they cut years off Diggs's contract that Buffalo was pro-rating (since they had to eat the signing bonus portion of the contract). Then Caserio did the opposite with Mixon (extended him when he was in a prove-it contract year as an aging RB).
If they hadn't changed the Diggs contract, it would have been:
2024 - $18.5M; 2025 - $18.0M (only $3.5M was guaranteed, if Houston wanted to cut him this offseason)
They restructured it so Diggs was paid $22.5M in 2024, $20.8M of which was a signing bonus on fictitious 5 year voidable contract. That saved Houston around $11M in 2024 (to help sign Hunter, Al-Shaair, and Autry, perhaps) but puts $16.6M in dead money from Diggs on the 2025 cap. The capology websites project he has a free agent value around $13.4M/yr on a 1-3 yr deal. If he actually accepted a 1 year, $13M deal, I guess the Texans would get net savings by last year's restructuring. I'm not holding my breath that Diggs would accept a deal at that price, plus Houston only has $10.7M in cap space. Cutting Kenyon Green saves zero, and cutting Fairbairn costs you money against the cap. Cutting Tytus Howard and/or Shaq Mason as post-June 1 could free up some money, but of course you have to sign players better than them as replacements.