HOUSTON -- Nickel cornerback Jalen Pitre and the Houston Texans have agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract extension with $30 million guaranteed, a source told ESPN.
The third-year safety out of Baylor finished the 2024 season with 65 tackles, six tackles for loss and eight pass deflections. One highlight play was in the Texans 34-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, when he forced a fumble on Cowboys right tackle Tyler Guyton. That led to defensive end Derek Barnett scooping and scoring for a touchdown in the fourth quarter after Barnett had strip-sacked Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush.
Pitre's season was cut short in Week 12 when he injured his shoulder in the Texans' 32-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans when he tackled Titans wideout Tyler Boyd in the second quarter. At the time of the injury, Pitre ranked third on the team in tackles, tied for fifth in tackles for loss, and third in pass deflections.
This is the third defensive player this offseason to earn an extension with the Texans after cornerback Derek Stingley and Danielle Hunter agreed to massive contracts. Coach DeMeco Ryans said at the league's annual meetings that Houston wanted to send a "message" with these extensions.
"We want to send a message," Ryans said. "To all of our young guys, when you do it the right way, guys like Stingley, Nico, young guys who came in and played really well for us, they became top players in the league at their positions, you want to reward those guys."
Pitre's 2024 campaign was his second noteworthy season after having a standout rookie year when he finished with 147 tackles and five interceptions.
