Texans' Biggest Winners & Losers After Free Agency Week 1

The Texans' offense has seen a few quality upgrades in the past two weeks of offseason action, with the offensive line seeing multiple new deals and external acquisitions, David Montgomery being added to the running back room, and even the tight end room seeing a facelift with Foster Moreau's two-year deal.

That's a big deal for C.J. Stroud, who will be headed into his fourth year with some of the most well-rounded supporting casts he's seen since entering the league, and will certainly need it to capitalize on what's bound to be a pivotal season for his future in Houston.

Winner: Cole Popovich | O-Line Coach

The Texans' offensive line staff has some solid clay to work with for next season, with not only Ed Ingram set to come back as their starting right guard for another year, but also with two potential new starters in free agent signings Braden Smith and Evan Brown. Re-signing Trent Brown to another one-year deal also helps bring a bit more veteran depth.

Expect the work to continue upfront to add more youth via the draft and value pickups from the free agent market. However, you'd have to think Cole Popovich is pretty pleased with the work done so far.

Loser: Blake Fisher | OT

One name on the roster who might've seen their role and/or ceiling for growth next season within the first week of free agency is third-year tackle Blake Fisher, who's now slated to compete with not only Braden Smith, but also Trent Brown for Houston's right tackle spots.

Fisher has 15 starts through his first two years in Houston, but could find himself on the roster bubble soon enough if he's unable to solidify a depth spot in the Texans' tackle room.

Winner: Jayden Higgins | WR

One area of the Texans' roster that hasn't been touched headed into next season: wide receiver.

So far, Houston's front office has shown that they're confident in running it back with their current pass-catcher room, outside of re-signing Christian Kirk. That's music to the ears of Jayden Higgins, who could have the opportunity for a major year-two leap without a ton of competition in the room.

Winner: Everyone Who Got Extensions

Nick Caserio and Co. have been busy bringing in new talent to the building, but also in handing out a good chunk of extensions to keep his best talent in-house for at least the next two seasons.

For those that got a fresh deal in place like Danielle Hunter, Dalton Schultz, and even Ka'imi Fairbairn to become the league's newest highest-paid kicker, this week has been a huge win to cement themselves as core pieces of the roster through 2027, and made a huge win for their bank accounts as well.

Loser: Will Anderson Jr. | EDGE

One player who's yet to get that heavily anticipated extension this offseason is Texans All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson, who's been expected to soon land a new deal to make him the league's highest-paid defensive lineman after putting together his best season in the NFL. So far, though, that deal has yet to come to fruition.

It's nothing to panic about as it pertains to the team's future, as the Texans are certainly eager to keep their defensive cornerstone onboard for as long as possible. Those negotiations just haven't been hashed out yet, and will force Anderson to be patient for that well-deserved payday in the meantime.

Winner: Jalen Pitre | DB

The addition of safety Reed Blankenship not only helps round out the Texans' secondary as a whole, but now gives Jalen Pitre more flexibility to be the versatile, hard-hitting defensive back that's made him one of the highest-paid nickels in the game today.

As the Texans' secondary holds a certified two-man tandem in the back-end with Blankenship and Calen Bullock, Pitre doesn't have to fill in as much at strong safety like he was forced to amid the many changes at the position last year. He'll have more time to play in the box or at his usual nickel role, giving this defense more options and more overall talent to line up on the field all at once.

Winner: Dino Vasso | DBs Coach

With that added versatility in the secondary in mind with Blankenship's addition, Dino Vasso is probably a pretty happy man when he's looking at the personnel he'll be able to coach up next season for his fourth year in Houston.

Vasso was the center of talks earlier in the offseason for a defensive coordinator job elsewhere as one of the NFL's highly-touted assistants on his side of the ball. He would end up passing on those to run it back with Houston, and now gets to run with an even better group than they had last season.

Loser: Jaylen Reed | S

With Blankenship's implementation on the Texans' defense, that means someone is bound to get demoted on the depth chart in the process. Second-year defensive back Jaylen Reed was the most likely name to claim Houston's starting safety role opposite Bullock in 2026, but now appears to be headed towards a much smaller role altogether.

Reed showcased a few nice flashes on Houston's defense in his rookie season, but was simply too inconsistent in terms of his availability to be locked into a starting spot for year two. He'll now have to make his mark as a depth piece in the safety room and on special teams to cement a spot on the 53-man.