The Houston Texans officially signed seventh-round draft pick Solomon Byrd to his rookie contract on Thursday. The former USC Trojans defensive lineman inked for four years with a total of $4.119 million, which is fully guaranteed, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.
Byrd is receiving a signing bonus, which is worth $99,992. If the Houston Texans choose not to extend or renew his contract after four seasons, he’ll become a free agent heading into 2028. The Texans drafted him with the No. 238th pick in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans opened up about what the former Trojans defender brings to the table for the defense.
“When it came to [Solomon] Byrd, just looking at a guy that has the traits to play our style up front,” Ryans said. “He plays hard, relentless. He’s a tough player, and he has the skill to get after the quarterback. We’re excited about him. At that point in the draft, adding a guy who had the skill set that we like, length, and he can rush the quarterback.”
“I think we’ve added great players on offense and great players on defense,” he added of the team’s nine selections. “I love all our picks that we had. I’m excited to work with all of them. All our coaches, they’re all fired up and excited to work with the guys that we picked, as well.”
Texans hope to improve front four depth with Byrd addition
Byrd’s journey began in 2018 at Wyoming, taking a redshirt during his true freshman season. Two years later, he opted out of playing football in 2020 due to COVID-19. Returning the following year saw him record 37 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks.
His numbers were good enough to attract interest from USC after entering the NCAA transfer portal. Byrd took advantage of the opportunity and played nicely into the rotation during his two seasons in Los Angeles.
This past season was a great one for Byrd, earning an All-Pac-12 honorable mention. He recorded 49 tackles, a team-leading 11.0 tackles for loss, and six sacks. While there were once again not too many praises sung about the USC defense under Alex Grinch, Byrd was a bright spot.
Byrd played high school football at Palm Dale (CA) William Knight, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 2,600 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.
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