Danielle Hunter signs two-year, $49 million deal with Houston Texans, per report

The Houston Texans surprised the NFL world by going from worse to first with their division, last season. Many would say it was in large part thanks to their home run hits during the 2023 NFL Draft, selecting offensive rookie of the year CJ Stroud and Will Anderson with the top five picks. This year, Houston is swinging for the fences and the 2024 free agency period. And it appears as if the Texans have hit another home run.

After trading for the Cincinnati Bengals’ soon-to-be-released running back Joe Mixon, Houston added a big-time pass rusher to complement Anderson in Danielle Hunter on a two-year deal.

“Danielle Hunter to the Texans on a two-year, $49 million deal, including $48 million guaranteed, per source. The deal has a max value of $51 million,” said ESPN’s Adam Schefter via X.

The former LSU tiger and longtime Minnesota Viking defensive star is a huge acquisition for Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. Ryans, who is known for his defensive mind, shouldn’t have any issues highlighting Hunter’s strengths as he and the Texans attempt to repeat as AFC South champions and journey deeper into the playoffs next season.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline comes the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match, that round’s pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.