DeMeco Ryans said he wanted the Texans to invest heavily in the defensive line this offseason. On Tuesday evening, the coach got his wish.
The Texans reached an agreement with free-agent edge rusher Danielle Hunter on a two-year, $49 million contract, a source briefed on the deal confirmed to the Chronicle. Of that $49 million, $48 million is guaranteed, an unprecedented deal for defensive ends.
Hunter was arguably one of the top two or three players on the market when the NFL's legal tampering period began Monday. He had a career-high 16½ sacks for the Vikings in 2023.
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Hunter's deal makes him one of the highest-paid Texans players in terms of average salary per year, if not the highest.
Hunter, 29, who was drafted by the Vikings in 2015 out of LSU, grew up in Katy and played at Morton Ranch High School. He has made the Pro Bowl four times in his career, including each of the past two seasons. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2018.
Hunter replaces former Texans edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who agreed to a deal with the Vikings on Monday. Greenard led the Texans with 12½ sacks in 2023. He was arguably their best defensive player.
But adding Hunter gives the Texans a quality replacement who, while still in his prime, could serve as a mentor to edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.
TEXANS TRACKER: Houston's moves in free agency.
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Along with his 16½ sacks, Hunter, who is 6-foot-5 and 263 pounds, also had four forced fumbles and 83 tackles. He was a consistent game-wrecker for the Vikings.
He also addresses the Texans' most pressing need in free agency.
The Texans entered free agency with about $70 million in cap space, hoping to make a splash. They certainly have done that with the addition of Hunter and others. It was a significant shift in how Texans general manager Nick Caserio has operated in the past, especially when the Texans were trying to get out of a significant cap hole three years ago. But it's also a signal they are trying to maximize their window to win while their most important player, quarterback C.J. Stroud, remains on a rookie deal.
The Texans also added defensive tackle Denico Autry, another veteran, who had 11½ sacks for Tennessee last season, as well as defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi.
The Texans’ defensive line is expected to look like this in 2024 from left to right: Anderson, Maliek Collins, Autry and Hunter.
At linebacker, the Texans added former Titan Azeez Al-Shaair, who played under Ryans in San Francisco. Though the Texans lost several players in free agency, the free agents they have gained are accomplished and talented.
The agreement with Hunter follows a move the Texans made earlier Tuesday when they traded a seventh-round pick to the Bengals for running back Joe Mixon.
Bleacher Report was the first to report the news of Hunter's agreement.
March 12, 2024
Jonathan M. Alexander is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering the Houston Texans and NFL. He can be reached at [email protected].
Alexander is a Charlotte native and graduated in 2013 from N.C. Central University, an HBCU in Durham, N.C. He’s covered a variety of beats in his career from K-12 schools, public safety, town government, recruiting, Duke basketball, UNC basketball and football at the Raleigh New & Observer, and most recently spent two years covering the Carolina Panthers for the Charlotte Observer.
He has twice earned APSE National Top 10 honors for his writing and reporting.
He broke one of the biggest stories on the Panthers beat in November 2021, when he revealed that the Panthers were planning to meet with quarterback Cam Newton with the intentions to sign him one year after releasing him.
In his free time, Jonathan enjoys coaching youth basketball, trying new restaurants and hanging with friends. He has one sister, Tyler, who has lived in Houston for six years. His parents, Stanley and Becky, who are his biggest influences, are both retired social workers.