The Houston Texans had their first training camp practice on July 23rd as they got some critical reps in before the 2025 season approaches.
The Texans have some building blocks on the team, and they made sure to extend a couple of them this offseason. CB Derek Stingley got a three-year, $90 million deal in March, and they continued to hand out money in the following month.
In April, defensive back Jalen Pitre and the Texans agreed on a three-year, $39 million extension that can go up to $42.6 million. With him being locked in for the foreseeable future, Pitre was already seen making plays in practice.
Per Aaron Wilson, Pitre intercepted C.J. Stroud and returned it for a pick-six on Thursday.
#Texans nickel Jalen Pitre, who signed $42.6 million deal in offseason, delivers pick six as he intercepts C.J. Stroud @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) July 24, 2025
Texans DB Jalen Pitre Making Plays in Practice
Pitre is a very athletic and versatile player in the secondary for Houston. He lines up at both safety and nickelback. The majority of his reps last year came in the slot (434 slot reps), with 188 snaps being in the box.
It's good to see Pitre back out there after his 2024 season was cut short after undergoing pectoral surgery. When healthy, the Baylor product has shown the ability to be a difference maker in the secondary. His interception of Stroud is the latest example of that and gives him that internal boost that he still got it.
Pitre was nabbed with the 37th overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft and immediately started games as a rookie. Over 44 games, he has finished 296 total tackles, 17 TFLs, 21 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and six interceptions.
Before going down last season, Pitre had a 73.9 overall grade (27th among 171 graded safeties), 79.5 run-defense grade (22nd among 171 graded safeties), and a 71.3 coverage grade (27th among 171 graded safeties) per PFF.
The Texans' secondary is a strength for this team, and Pitre plays a big role in that. He joins Stingley and Lassiter as the starting cornerbacks with Calen Bullock and newly acquired C.J. Gardner-Johnson taking the spots in the safety room.
Houston was sixth in the NFL in pass defense (201) last season, and fans should expect another stellar season from that unit again in 2025.
With Pitre extended, he doesn't have the thoughts of having to get paid in the back of his mind. Now he can just play freely and continue to make plays like he did in Thursday's practice.