Texans, Cowboys Tied to Azeez Al-Shaair Trade Buzz

Hearing Al-Shaair's name in any trade buzz would certainly a new development for the Texans' offseason. Despite the star linebacker entering the last year of his contract headed into the 2026 season, he's yet to been seen as a premier trade target that Houston would have interest in shopping, especially coming off his best year during his tenure with the team.

But that certainly doesn't have to stop the Cowboys and their front office from trying to get the Texans to budge, and potentially move off of their defensive leader and team captain to bring aboard their own defense across the state.

The question is, should Al-Shaair be a name that Texans fans need to keep an eye on as a name who could be on his way out of H-Town?

While anything can change over the course of a long NFL offseason, to this point, it feels pretty unlikely.

Why Texans Likely Won't Trade Azeez Al-Shaair to Dallas (or Anywhere)

The contractual situation revolving around Al-Shaair makes it reasonable that teams may be intrigued to acquire the Texans’ star linebacker if there was any chance Nick Caserio and Co. had interest in moving off of him.

Though even with notable interest from teams like the Cowboys, it's hard to believe that the Texans brass wouldn't like to keep Al-Shaair on as a key fixture of their future endeavors.

For one, Al-Shaair plays a pivotal role for Houston's defense as their general in the middle of the field. He may not jump off the page in terms of highlight plays like Will Anderson or Danielle Hunter, and may not be as strong in coverage as the Texans' star corner duo.

However, he's a team captain, the heartbeat of what could be the NFL's best defense in the league come next season, and perhaps most importantly, a favorite of Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, who has an extended history with Houston's veteran linebacker dating back to their time together on the San Francisco 49ers when Ryans was still a coordinator.

In 2025 with the Texans, Al-Shaair finished the year playing in 16 regular season games to log 103 combined tackles, nine passes defended, and two interceptions. It was the third time in his career and first with Houston, logging over 100 combined tackles in a single season.

Rather than moving off of Al-Shaair and trying to claim value on him in a deal, the Texans are far more likely to extend him at some point this offseason, retaining him as a core part of this defensive unit for as long as he's playing at this level.

That may not deter teams like the Cowboys and Jerry Jones from picking up the phone to try their hand at getting him on their own unit. But even still, you can rest assured that the Texans probably aren't budging on their star linebacker anytime soon.