After being franchise-tagged by the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, tight end Dalton Schultz hit the open market in 2023 and landed with the Houston Texans. While his market wasn’t as strong as he was hoping it would be, he eventually landed the multi-year deal he was seeking this offseason.
Schultz agreed to a three-year, $36 million deal with the Texans after a very successful first season with the franchise. In 2023, he caught 59 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns, becoming one of C.J. Stroud’s favorite targets.
On-field production and having a chance to be a major part of the offense was only one piece of the puzzle for Schultz wanting to remain with the Texans. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Schultz revealed the staff and atmosphere around the organization is what played a part in signing a multi-year deal.
“This place is a well-oiled machine,” Schultz said, via the Houston Chronicle. “The coaching staff — the coaching changes, I can’t speak to the previous stuff — but the strength staff is phenomenal, the training staff is unbelievable. This has been the most trainers that I’ve ever seen on a staff and they take really amazing care of the players. The nutrition staff is phenomenal.”
Playing for the Texans after spending his first five seasons in the NFL had to be a bit of a shock for Schultz. The media coverage of each franchise differs greatly, as does how each of the teams is run.
Schultz admitted that hitting free agency was a bit nerve-racking as he wasn’t sure how other organizations operated. But, he has been happy with how things turned out with the Texans, throwing some shade at his former team in the process.
“The focus is just football, you know what I mean?” Schultz said of playing in Houston. “I’m going back and telling some people about being around the Cowboys practice facility and game day and describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis and it surprises a lot of people. They’re like, ‘Holy crap. That actually happens at a practice facility?’ You think it’s normal, and then you come to a place like this.”
Jerry Jones’ Cowboys certainly don’t shy away from the spotlight. Oftentimes, they invite it. Schultz mentioned one instance in which fans were taking a tour of the facility while players were working out in the weight room.
“It’s literally a zoo, dude,” Schultz said. “There’s people tapping on the glass trying to get people’s attention while they’re doing power cleans or whatever. It’s different. That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what (owner) Jerry Jones likes, that’s the way that they run things and there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract in the locker room, just being in the facility until you go somewhere else and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, there’s none of that.'”
Schultz certainly seems happy about leaving behind the media circus the Cowboys have become for the Texans. That could possibly play a part in why Houston was able to advance in the NFL playoffs this season, something Dallas was unable to do.
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