The Houston Texans had an active offseason as they look to take a step forward in 2025. Back-to-back AFC South division championships and a pair of appearances in the divisional round of the playoffs were an admirable step for a franchise that had sunk toward laughing stock status in the early part of the decade, but the expectations have been raised as quarterback C.J. Stroud enters his third year.
It’s framed the Texans as agents of chaos since the league year began in March. Many were surprised when they traded Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders, and the surprising moves kept coming as they traded former first-round pick Kenyon Green to the Philadelphia Eagles and added Laken Tomlinson and Ed Ingram to bolster their offensive line depth.
While those moves raised eyebrows across the league, there’s another decision the Texans have made that has thrown the league into complete chaos and could leave a lasting impression as teams slowly make their way toward the start of the season.
Texans Put League on Tilt With Jayden Higgins’s Fully Guaranteed Contract
The Texans were able to get wide receiver Jayden Higgins under contract before OTAs, but his deal came with a cost. Houston gave Higgins a fully guaranteed contract as part of the deal, which is uncommon for a second-round pick. Because of the circumstances, other teams have found it difficult to sign their second-round pick, and The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov pointed to Higgins’ contract as a reason no other second-round selection has signed their rookie contract outside of the Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
“It all started when Jayden Higgins…got a brand new deal,” Meirov said on his NFL Spotlight podcast. “He had a fully guaranteed contract. Carson Schwesinger, the player taken right before him by the Browns…he then also got a fully guaranteed contract. Since then, none, zero, nada. Not one second-rounder has signed any contract at all since that took place. I assume that’s got to be the holdup with all these agents now trying to work with teams saying, ‘We want fully guaranteed contracts.’”
The Texans may have had their reasons for giving Higgins a fully guaranteed deal. After trading down from the 25th pick in the draft, Higgins was technically their first pick in the draft. With the Iowa State product being so close to the first round, giving him a fully guaranteed contract didn’t seem like that big of a deal, considering it’s a four-year, $11.7 million pact.
But while the money isn’t as significant as some other deals, agents may be wondering how far they can push the envelope. Meirov noted Seattle Seahawks first-round pick Nick Emmanwori should get a fully guaranteed contract as the 25th overall pick in the draft, but the focus will shift to Browns running back Quinshon Judkins, who was taken with the 36th overall pick.
Again, it doesn’t feel like a major deal, but second-round picks are less likely to pan out than first-rounders. In the case of Higgins, the Texans can’t cut bait with him until the final year of the deal. Even then, the Texans wouldn’t save any money if they made him a post-June 1 cut, making Higgins’s contract ironclad.
If a player is close to the first round, a team may live with that. But if the player is toward the back of the second round, teams may not be willing to make that commitment. It has thrown a wrench into what should be a clean process to get rookies signed and could have put the Texans in front of a movement no general manager wanted to happen.