Houston Texans Facing Contract Dilemma With Key Trade Addition

The Houston Texans did a whole lot of wheeling and dealing this offseason, which is funny considering they had very limited financial flexibility to work with.

The Texans made some shrewd signings and trades, the latter of which included acquiring defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson in deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gardner-Johnson is expected to play a huge role in a secondary that was already great to begin with, but the question is, how long will Houston have the reigning Super Bowl champion in its defensive backfield?

The University of Florida product has two years remaining on his contract with only $2 million in guaranteed money heading into 2025, so the Texans may need to act fast if they want to keep him around long term. Appropriately, Bleacher Report's Moe Moton has labeled Gardner-Johnson as the most significant contract decision facing Houston going into the new campaign.

"Still in his prime at 27, Gardner-Johnson will likely push for a new deal within the next year. One can argue that he's underpaid for a defender with 13 interceptions in his last 31 outings," Moton wrote.

Gardner-Johnson played in 16 games for the Eagles last season, racking up 59 tackles, six picks, 12 passes defended and a defensive touchdown. He also posted an 81.3 coverage grade at Pro Football Focus, which ranked 10th among 171 qualifying safeties.

The former fourth-round pick began his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints back in 2019 and spent his first three years there before joining Philadelphia in 2022. He then departed the Eagles after one season to link up with the Detroit Lions before returning to Philly a year later.