Small notes on the Texans defense before free agency

I’m anxious for the Texans to start negotiating with Derek Stingley because I don’t think the market is going to get any better.

Stingley has two years of team control left, the salary cap has ballooned. In 2022, the cap was $208 million. In 2025, it’s up to $279.2 million. That’s $71 million in three years. How far back do I have to go in the NFL’s salary cap database to find when the cap was $137 million? I have to go back to 2014. Because of how quickly things have escalated, I would be looking to lock up the stars now before outlier contracts start to pile up.

I suppose you can argue that Stingley gets hurt a lot and that makes him a bad candidate for a long-term contract. I think that’s fair. But NFL contracts are never really long-term, and the Texans weren’t going to not pay him over the next two years anyway. We’re not talking about Stingley being tied to the roster for six years — he might get to four guaranteed years of salary in a new deal.

More importantly, it’s the right thing to do. Chiefs wideouts caught five balls against the Texans in the Divisional Round. It was an All-Pro year. The Texans don’t win the Dolphins game without Stingley. Let’s get it squared away.

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I am a little less optimistic about the idea of Jalen Pitre extension, which Jon Alexander brought up yesterday.

Talks with nickel corner Jalen Pitre, who will enter a contract year next season, are expected to begin after free agency, too, a league source said. Because Pitre was drafted in the second-round in 2022, he’s not eligible for the fifth-year option.