Houston Texans pull the trigger on contract extension for critical playmaker
A DONE DEAL
05 March 2024
Dalton Schultz is staying with the Texans. Composite Getty Image.
With franchise tags flying across the NFL on Tuesday, the Houston Texans had an important decision to make about one of CJ Stroud's favorite targets, Dalton Schultz.
Dalton Schultz generated +21.1 receiving EPA on targets in the middle third of the field this season, 2nd-most among tight ends behind only Sam LaPorta (+23.0).#WeAreTexans https://t.co/UOVss4tRwZ pic.twitter.com/9X8UgTWLzd
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 5, 2024
According to Ian Rapoport, the Texans will avoid using the franchise tag on Schultz. He and the Texans have agreed to a 3-year, $36 million contract. $23.5 million of the deal is fully guaranteed.
On the surface, this looks like a good deal for the Texans, with Dalton Schultz being the best TE that would have been available in free agency had the Texans chose not to re-sign or tag him.
This is also a down year in the draft for tight ends, outside of Georgia's Brock Bowers. So the Texans made sure they weren't going to take a step back at the position by locking up Schultz.
Schultz finished the season with 59 catches, 635 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns over 15 games in the regular season.
Something the Astros missed is extending Yordan Alvarez’s recovery
May 31, 2025, 2:41 pm
Yordan Alvarez’s hand injury is worse than it originally appeared.
The Houston slugger felt pain in his right hand on Friday while hitting and a small fracture that was previously believed to be a muscle strain was discovered. The fracture is about 60% healed.
General manager Dana Brown said he believes the fracture in Alvarez’s fourth metacarpal wasn’t discovered in initial imaging on May 6 because there was too much inflammation and fluid.
Alvarez has been out since May 3 with the injury. They had hoped he could come off the injured list this weekend.
“The immediate plan for him right now is to just let it rest,” Brown said. “And he’ll still continue to do other baseball activity like the running, he could probably go out in the outfield and catch. He can do everything else except for pick up a bat. And so, we don’t even want him hitting off tees even though he feels good enough to hit off a tee. Just let it heal completely and then you’ll be back.”
Since Friday’s imaging showed that the fracture was already more than halfway healed, Brown doesn’t believe it will keep him out too much longer.
“We’re hopeful that because he’s healed so much that ... he’ll be back sooner rather than later,” Brown said.
Alvarez was asked when he expects to return.
“I wish I had a magic ball to tell you,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “The good news is that it’s healing well, but I need rest because the fact that I was keeping on doing swings, it was taking it back, taking it (longer) to heal.”
Brown added that they think the fracture occurred when Alvarez tried to play through the initial muscle strain. Brown said he played for almost two weeks after initially noticing the problem before the first imaging was done.
“The muscle strain was real,” Brown said. “I really think that when he was fighting through those weeks knowing that it wasn’t the same feeling as some of his hand problems in the past ... maybe that’s when he may have caused a little bit more damage.”
Alvarez hit .210 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 29 games this season before landing on the injured list.
