The Texans have agreed to terms with linebacker E.J. Speed, a core special teams player.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports that Speed will sign a two-year deal with a maximum value of $13 million, including $7.5 million guaranteed, rather than hit free agency. He had signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Texans last offseason.
Speed totaled 62 tackles, two quarterback hits and a pass defensed in 16 games with nine starts last season. He played 44 percent of the defensive snaps and 52 percent of the special teams snaps in the games he played.
The Colts made Speed a fifth-round pick in 2019, and he spent six years in Indianapolis.
Speed, 30, has recorded 416 tackles, 30 tackles for losses, two sacks, six forced fumbles, one interception and 13 passes defensed in his career.
The Texans have gone the contract restructure route with a couple of their defensive backs as they get their cap in shape ahead of free agency.
According to multiple reports, the Texans have restructured the deals of cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and safety Jalen Pitre by converting portions of their base salaries into signing bonuses. The two moves have opened up more than $22 million in space for the Texans while increasing the cap hits for both players in the coming years.
Stingley is signed through 2029 and has salaries of $20 million, $21 million, and $21 million over the contract’s final three seasons. The cap hits for those years are in the $29-31 million range.
Pitre has salaries of $9.5 million in 2027 and 2028 with cap hits of $14.557 million both years.
The Texans have agreed to terms with tight end Dalton Schultz on a contract extension. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that it’s a one-year, $12.6 million deal, guaranteeing him $17.6M through 2027.
Schultz signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract with the Texans in free agency in 2023 before re-signing on a three-year, $36 million deal in 2024.
He has made 194 receptions for 1,944 yards and 10 touchdowns in his three seasons in Houston.
Schultz, who turns 30 this summer, entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2018. He spent five seasons in Dallas, catching 211 passes for 2,122 yards and 17 touchdowns.
The Texans reached agreement on a one-year extension with edge rusher Danielle Hunter on Thursday.
Joe Mixon’s future with the Texans was never in doubt, but his future in the NFL remains in question.
The team made it official on Friday, releasing the running back a day after he asked for the move.
The Texans traded for their RB1 this week, a move that will become official next week, when they worked out a deal with the Lions for David Montgomery.
Mixon, meanwhile, becomes a free agent. The question is: Will he play again?
Mixon did not play last season, because of an off-field foot injury that remains a mystery. Texans General Manager Nick Caserio revealed at the Scouting Combine that Mixon underwent surgery for his injury this offseason but would not elaborate.
The Texans save $8.5 million by parting ways.
Mixon, who turns 30 this summer, made the Pro Bowl in his first season with the Texans, rushing for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024.
He has 7,428 rushing yards and 60 rushing touchdowns since the Bengals made him a second-round pick in 2017.
The Texans are bringing back one of their veteran defensive players.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, safety M.J. Stewart has agreed to return to Houston on a one-year deal.
Stewart, 30, has been with the Texans since 2022. He appeared in nine games with four starts in 2025 before missing the rest of the season with a torn quad suffered in November.
Stewart recorded 25 total tackles with two passes defensed and one forced fumble in 2025.
A second-round pick in 2018, Stewart has appeared in 99 career games with 14 starts for the Buccaneers, Browns, and Texans.
