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Jalen Pitre #5 of the Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have signed cornerback Jalen Pitre to a three year $39 million extension, ESPN broke Friday morning.
Jalen Pitre, 25, will be entering his fourth season in the league with the same team that drafted him out of Baylor in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pitre was born and raised in Texas, attended college in Waco, and has spent his entire professional career in Houston.
“This is home for me,” said Pitre on a radio appearance at a Texans community service event. “This is where all my family is, this is where I first started playing football. Definitely a lot of memories here and I definitely want to continue playing for the Houston Texans. This is my city and I love my city.”
The young corner is still looking to match his production from his rookie year where he made 147 tackles and intercepted five passes.
Texans Breaking The Bank This Offseason
Early in March, the Texans made headlines by signing to All-Pro defensive pieces to massive extensions.
Derek Stingley Jr. became the leagues highest paid defensive back on March 17th when he signed a three-year $90 million deal, with $89 million guaranteed. The 23-year-old became the highest paid corner in the history of the game, out pacing Jaycee Horn’s extension with the Panthers.
“Like halfway through the workout, he was like, ‘Dude, guess what?’” Stingley shared a conversation with his manager in a presser following the announcement. “I was like, ‘What.’ He was like ‘Deal is done.’ And I just went, ‘What, that’s crazy.’ I was just saying, ‘That’s crazy.’”
In addition to inking up Stingley, the team also reached an agreement with the edge rusher who finished with the fifth most sacks in the league last season, Danielle Hunter. Just two days later, Hunter agreed to a contract extension that keeps the lineman entering his tenth season in the NFL in Houston through 2026.
“Hunter will earn $32 million in 2025 — which includes a $12.5 million raise — and $55.1 million over the next two seasons, with $54.1 million fully guaranteed,” reported NFL.com’s Grant Gordon. “The 2026 salary of $35.6 million will make Hunter the league’s second highest-paid defensive end, just under the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett.”
The investment on the defensive side of the ball is a statement that head coach Demeco Ryans hopes will send a message.
“We want to send a message,” said Ryans as reported by chron.com. “To all of our young guys, when you do it the right way, guys like Stingley, Nico, young guys who came in and played really well for us, they became top players in the league at their positions, you want to reward those guys.”
Stingley Confident In Texans’ Defensive Unit
After cutting three massive paychecks, corner Derek Stingley Jr. believes that the Texans defense will be the measuring stick for the rest of the league.
“I feel like we’re going to be standard – we are the standard, really,” Stingley said. “But I feel like it’s just going to add another level of, ‘We’re here. This is our defense, this is the way we play football.’ So, think it’s going to be good.”
