The Houston Texans have agreed to a short-term but extremely lucrative contract extension in the NFL with their best pass rusher.
As several media outlets reported on Thursday, edge rusher Danielle Hunter will remain with the Texans for another year. Both sides agreed to an extension of his contract, which originally expired at the end of the 2026 season, for a sum of $40 million.
The money should be fully guaranteed, but how exactly it will be divided over the next two years is still unclear. In any case, this is Hunter’s second contract extension since arriving in Texas. He signed as a free agent in 2024 for two years and $49 million and then extended it for one year and $35.6 million. This deal at the time even included a salary increase of twelve million dollars for 2025.
Hunter was originally a third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2015 draft and played there until 2023. He had 12 sacks and made the Pro Bowl in his first Texans season. Last season, Hunter had 15 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and was named to the All-Pro Second Team.
Video: Cologne tight end in the middle of the NFL Combine
Texans ahead of busy offseason
This was the second deal for the Texans on Thursday after they had already agreed to a one-year contract extension with offensive tackle Trent Brown. According to ESPN, this deal is worth up to seven million dollars for the coming season.
The Texans had previously sent O-liner Tytus Howard to the Cleveland Browns via trade and brought running back David Montgomery from Detroit in exchange for O-liner Juice Scruggs. It is also expected that the team will look for contract extensions this offseason with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and, above all, edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who can sign a new deal for the first time in his career.
