The Houston Texans' offseason to-do list can probably be broken down into three distinct subsets — fortifying the roster through free agency and trades, find young faces in the NFL Draft, and extending a few of their own players in order to keep the team's core nucleus together.
On Monday morning, the Texans checked off a huge box under that third category, as Derek Stingley signed a record breaking three-year, $90 million contract extension, with $89 million of the total money guaranteed.
Record deal: Texans All-Pro CB Derek Stingley Jr has agreed to a three-year, $90 million extension including $89 million guaranteed. At $30M base value per year, Stingley is now the highest paid defensive back in NFL history. The CB market has been completely reset.
Deal… pic.twitter.com/g8nzFFFQvj
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2025
The deal sets a new standard in average annual value (AAV) for a defensive back, blowing through the previous ceiling set by the Panthers' Jaycee Horn last week, when he signed a four-year, $100 million extension.
Stingley is coming off his first season in which he was fully healthy, appearing in all 17 regular season games, as well as both playoff games. During the regular season, he had five interceptions (tied for 6th in the NFL), 18 pass breakups (2nd), and allowed a 46.7 percent completion percentage when targeted, the second-lowest number in the league in that category.
This is a significant signing for Texans general manager Nick Caserio, as Stingley is his first former first round pick, selected by Caserio as Texans GM, to be given a second contract. This likely foreshadows even heavier spending next offseason, when former 2023 first round picks, C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson, will be extension eligible.
The massive jump from Horn's $25 million AAV to Stingley's $30 million AAV is not being met with heavy criticism, as Stingley is clearly a better player than Horn. Things now get interesting, though, in New York and Kansas City, where Sauce Gardner (Jets) and Trent McDuffie (Chiefs) are up for extensions. Both of them are, like Stingley, better players than Horn, but not better than Stingley. It will be fascinating to see if either crack the $30 million barrier.
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