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The management and coaching staff of the Houston Texans typically keep a low profile during the early portion of the offseason. Some of their decisions make the news, such as the recent hiring of new offensive and defensive line coaches. Most activities take place behind the scenes, the most critical being which players to cut and which to re-sign.

These two personnel evaluations are inextricably linked, particularly for teams who are short on cap space. The Texans have $10,936,195 to work with according to Spotrac, which places them in 22nd in the league.

General manager Rick Smith is in this position partly due to the fact 26.3 percent of the total cap figure of $142 million is committed to three players: Andre Johnson, Johnathan Joseph and Chris Myers. Each of the former Pro bowl selections is 30 or older, making them prime candidates for this list. The rest of the cap cuts have another factor weighing down their cost-benefit ratio: a lack of production relative to their compensation.

Smith will need some deep pockets to re-sign critical unrestricted free agents (UFAs) Kareem Jackson and Derek Newton. Who would have thought these two could ever progress to being must-have players? Ryan Mallett, Akeem Dent and Kendrick Lewis are almost as essential and fortunately carry lower price tags.

The first task before negotiations can begin in earnest is finding the money to make it happen. These are the likeliest players to be released in search of that financial flexibility.

All salary cap data provided courtesy of Spotrac.com.