2012 NFL Free Agent: Mario Williams' Days in Houston May Be Numbered

The Houston Texans are coming off a 10-6 season and their first AFC South title in franchise history. After also winning their first postseason game ever, the Texans and their fans head into the offseason as hopeful as they've ever been.

Among the first decisions the Texans will be forced to make this year is what to do in regards to their own free agent players, chief among them defensive end/outside linebacker Mario Williams.

The two-time Pro Bowler and first overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft appeared to be making a successful transition to outside linebacker in Wade Phillips' 3-4 defense in Houston last year. He racked up five sacks in his first five games before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season.

While head coach Gary Kubiak declined to specifically address Williams in his postseason press conference, you have to think that the Texans would love to bring him back into the fold. That being said, there are a number of factors that may make doing so difficult.

The first is the teams's cap space, or—more importantly—their lack of it. Houston isn't expected to have a whole lot of cap room this season. With other free agents (including standout center Chris Myers) to also consider, the Texans are going to have to ask players to re-negotiate their contracts to free up some salary to potentially throw at "Super Mario."

The franchise tag isn't really a consideration, either. The tag number for Williams would be in the neighborhood of $23 million, which redefines the term "cost prohibitive."

It's also worth considering if the Texans even want to throw huge money at Williams, given that the Houston defense didn't exactly fall apart once he went down. Indeed, the Texans finished 2011 ranked second in total defense. Given Houston's other areas of need and cap situation, the team may decide that it's just not financially feasible to bring Williams back.

Also, while Williams is only 27 and has displayed game-changing talent at times, his career hasn't been as dominant as some might think. In only two of Williams' six seasons in the NFL has the former North Carolina State standout reached double digit sacks.

There's also the small matter of the numerous suitors who would likely line up to take a run at Williams should he hit free agency that have much more cap space with which to make Williams a huge offer. These would range from 3-4 teams looking for an outside linebacker like the Green Bay Packers to 4-3 teams in need of defensive end help like the Jacksonville Jaguars.

However, the biggest question mark in the whole scenario may be Williams himself. Is he willing to take a "hometown" discount to stay with a playoff contender in Houston or will he go for the biggest available offer?

Does Williams want to stay as a 3-4 offensive linebacker or would he prefer to move back to 4-3 defensive end? After all, that is the position he played all through college and in every season he's been in the National Football League until last year.

Williams has been mum on the subject to this point, but that's not really a surprise. He's always been the sort that did much more talking on the field than he does to the media.

It may seem somewhat unlikely at this point but I think that the Texans will somehow carve out the cap space to retain Mario Williams. That being said, it's certainly a very real possibility that a megadeal could lure him away. In any case, the contract status of the star defender is a story that will dominate conversation among the Texans faithful until it's resolved, one way or the other.