Texans Surprisingly Terminate Contract of 4-Year NFL Veteran

The Houston Texans have ended their brief experiment with linebacker Marte Mapu, waiving him from injured reserve and making him a free agent.

The move closed a short chapter that began in April, when Houston traded for the versatile defender just as New England was preparing to cut him.

Mapu arrived via a late-round 2027 pick swap: the Patriots received Houston’s sixth-rounder; the Texans got Mapu and New England’s seventh-round pick.

He was entering the final season of his four-year rookie deal, which carried a 2026 base salary of about $1.51 million. The deal never really got off the ground.

On Aug. 24 the Texans waived him with an injury designation. After he cleared waivers, he reverted to injured reserve. A week later, Houston settled the injury and released him, allowing him to sign elsewhere once healthy.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Mapu was a third-round pick (No. 76 overall) by the Patriots in 2023 out of Sacramento State, where he was the 2022 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. He did not enter the NFL in 2022; that was his final college season.

Over three years in New England, he played 44 games with 10 starts, totaling 89 tackles, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups, five forced fumbles and a half-sack. He flashed most in 2024, starting nine games after missing the first month on injured reserve. In 2025, under Mike Vrabel, his defensive snaps dropped to about 12 percent.

He played all 17 games but was used mainly as a special-teams personal protector, finishing with 25 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble.

Houston, coached by DeMeco Ryans, already had depth at linebacker with Azeez Al-Shaair, Henry To’oTo’o and E.J. Speed. Mapu was expected to compete for a backup role and special-teams snaps.

He did not stand out in camp and was outplayed by others in the room, according to reporting around the roster cut. The Texans also signed linebacker Caleb Johnson around the same time they moved on from Mapu.

For Mapu, now 26, the settlement is both a setback and an opening. He can return in 2026 once medically cleared and find a team that values his hybrid linebacker-safety skill set and special-teams reliability.

For Houston, it was a low-cost bet that did not pay off before the regular season. The Texans keep a crowded, physical front seven; Mapu looks for the next locker room that can use a versatile veteran who has already shown he can force turnovers when given a real role.