The Texans are adding to their defensive front.
Houston has agreed to a one-year deal with defensive end Dominique Robinson, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Robinson, 27, was a Bears fifth-round pick in 2022 and completed his rookie contract with the club. He appeared in 12 games for Chicago in 2025, recording 1.5 sacks with three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. He was on the field for 28 percent of defensive snaps and 50 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
In all, Robinson has played 46 games with eight starts, recording 3.5 career sacks.
Texans Clips
The Texans are keeping one of their veteran defenders.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins has agreed to a two-year deal to stick with Houston on the eve of free agency.
Garafolo notes Rankins’ deal includes $12 million guaranteed.
Rankins, 31, started all 17 games for Houston in 2025, recording 35 total tackles with five tackles for loss, nine QB hits, and 3.0 sacks.
He was on the field for 60 percent of Houston’s defensive snaps.
A first-round pick in the 2016 draft, Rankins has played 133 games with 90 starts for the Saints, Jets, Bengals, and Texans.
Texans guard Ed Ingram will remain in Houston rather than testing free agency.
Ingram and the Texans have agreed to a three-year contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He was slated to become a free agent this week.
The deal is reportedly worth $37.5 million, although there’s no word on how that contract is structured and how much money is guaranteed.
Ingram was a 2022 second-round pick of the Vikings who never quite lived up to expectations in Minnesota, and a year ago he was traded to Houston for a sixth-round pick. He started 14 regular-season games and both postseason games for the Texans last season, and they’ll pencil him in as a starting guard for this season as well.
Houston is bringing back one of its pending free agents.
Agent Mike McCartney announced on Sunday night that defensive tackle Naquan Jones has agreed to a one-year deal to re-sign with the Texans.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Jones’ contract is worth $2 million with a maximum of $2.5 million with incentives.
Jones, 28, was claimed off waivers by Houston late in the 2025 season after being released by the Chargers. He appeared in four regular-season games for Houston, plus the club’s two postseason games.
Jones entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and has appeared in 60 career games for the Titans, Cardinals, Chargers, and Texans. He’s tallied 6.5 sacks with 12 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits in his career.
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.
Another year, another one-year extension for Texans pass rusher Danielle Hunter.
Per multiple reports, the Texans and Hunter have agreed to terms on a one-year extension that will pay him $40.1 million.
Last year, the Texans and Hunter executed a one-year extension worth $35.6 million.
The 2025 extension put Hunter $100,000 per year ahead of Maxx Crosby’s annual average of $35.5 million. At the time, Crosby was the highest-paid player at the position. The latest deal inches Hunter past Myles Garrett, who is making $40 million per year.
The market at the position is currently led by Micah Parsons ($46.5 million), Aidan Hutchinson ($45 million), and T.J. Watt ($41 million).
Hunter, 31, has spent two seasons with the Texans. He had 12.0 sacks in 2024 and 15.0 in 2025. Most recently, he landed on the All-Pro second team.
