The Houston Texans haven't stayed quiet this offseason. They have made massive changes along their offensive line, releasing Shaq Mason and trading away Laremy Tunsil.
While those changes were shocking to Texans fans, they handed a monster extension to CB Derek Stingley. On March 17, Houston gave him a three-year, $90 million deal that includes $89 million fully guaranteed. That deal makes Stingley the highest-paid CB in the league, topping Carolina Panthers' CB Jaycee Horn, who inked a four-year, $100 million deal earlier this month.
That extension was celebrated in Houston but other teams around the league are questioning the Texans' decision to extend Stingley.
ESPN's Adam Schefter said on his podcast, "The Texans did something that I think in the long run is probably smart, but certainly got the eyebrows raised of other teams like, 'Why are they doing this now when he had two years left? Why weren't they waiting more?"
Stingley is entering his fourth year with the team, so technically, they had him locked in for the next two years at least. They didn't HAVE to extend Stingley yet but wanted to get ahead of the curve. The thing with waiting to pay your stars is the price will only go up.
Look at the Cincinnati Bengals as an example. Last offseason, receiver Ja'Marr Chase was looking for an extension, but both sides couldn't agree. Chase then came out in 2024 and was the Triple Crown winner (127 receptions, 1,708 receiving yards, and 17 touchdowns).
Those numbers helped him become the highest-paid non-QB in the league with a four-year, $161 million extension that featured $112 million guaranteed. Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb both got extensions last offseason and Chase wanted to make sure he got more than both of them.
While Stingley has missed games during the 2022 & 2023 seasons, he flipped the script in 2024. He played in all 17 games, posting career-highs in total tackles (54) and pass deflections (18) with five interceptions. The LSU product showed the league that he's a No. 1 CB and Houston rewarded him as so.
New York Jets CB Sauce Gardner and Kansas City Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie are two young CBs who are eligible for extensions as well. Both guys have All-Pros under their belt and will ask for hefty extensions. Despite what other teams have to say, this was the smart approach for Houston, they were proactive and signed one of their best players through 2030.