The Texans will focus on extending Will Anderson Jr. before the start of the 2026 season, but it will likely require a record-breaking AAV to do so. Albert Breer of SI.com observes the rapidly climbing contracts for edge rushers, and the writer believes Anderson’s next deal will likely come in at around $50MM annually.
This is a staggering figure, but it’s not completely unfounded. As Breer notes, the market was first revamped when Nick Bosa inked a deal worth a $34MM average annual value in 2023, topping the $28MM mark held by T.J. Watt. Maxx Crosby‘s deal boosted that AAV record to $35.5MM, but that was quickly jumped by Myles Garrett‘s $40MM annual earnings. Watt once again topped the list with his $41MM average annual value, and Micah Parsons eventually set the current record with his $46MM AAV.
Considering the $5MM jump from Watt’s deal to Parsons’ deal, Breer surmises that “it would be a stunner” if Anderson settles for anything less than $50MM per year. While the Texans could push against that record-breaking mark, Breer notes that the front office has shown a willingness to speed up negotiations and complete extensions quickly, as they did with Derek Stingley Jr.. Plus, Anderson embodies “the standard as a worker and a player” that coach DeMeco Ryans seeks. If the Texans were going to back up the Brink’s truck for any individual, it would be Anderson.
The third-overall pick in the 2023 draft, Anderson has quickly established himself as one of the league’s premier edge rushers. He earned his first All-Pro nod and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2025 after tallying 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, 20 tackles for loss, and 23 QB hits. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the best edge defender in the sport last year, although he “only” ranked third at the position for his pass-rush ability.
While the Texans may be eager to hand Anderson a new deal, the optics may not sit well with their franchise QB. Anderson was the second of two-straight picks by the Texans in the 2023 draft, with the team using the second-overall pick on C.J. Stroud. It seems unlikely that the Texans will be as quick to extend the signal-caller, and assuming Anderson inks his deal, the situation would be “glaring,” per Breer. While Anderson’s next deal won’t necessarily price the Texans out of Stroud’s next contract, the team may think twice about paying the QB the $65MM or $70MM AAV he’ll surely command.
These deals are getting out of hand. If a rusher wants 50 I’m trading him and grabbing 3 firsts. Great player but at some point these teams have to realize they are killing themselves with these contracts. Especially when you age a young QB that will want to be paid handsomely
I posted a comment below about getting deals done early, but if you’re confident that you can draft good production at a position, a trade is great. There are two downsides, of course: you have to probably use a pick to replace the guy, and that pick almost always takes a season or two to come up to speed at a minimum, and if you do it too much, you start to get a reputation as a team that doesn’t reward high performers, which can hurt you in attracting free agents or doing extensions.
The draws, however, are that you can use your cap more freely when it’s not tied to one guy, and you can use your excess picks to address other positions, too. It’s a big advantage if you consistently have extra firsts or seconds or even later picks every year. I doubt highly that Anderson would nab Houston three firsts, as good as he is, but he definitely gets them at least one first and a second high quality pick (I could even see another first as a possibility, especially if a pick swap is involved for a needy team).
I could see Houston benefitting in either case: they either extend Anderson and get a homegrown player who is young and already very effective (one of the best in the league, easily), or they trade him and get several good picks. Of course, they’ll have to draft well to replace Anderson, but it could be beneficial. I think that they’ll extend him and keep him as the foundational piece that he appears to be, and as expensive as this deal will be, it’ll certainly be outpaced soon enough. Stroud is going to need to repeat his rookie success if he wants anything close to $65 million a year, and Anderson at this moment seems like a more consistent and surer bet than a player who desperately needs a comeback year… even if that player is a quarterback.
The salary cap went up enough that $50M isn’t too big of a percentage for a pass rusher.
Or… You could sign him. See what happens over the next two seasons. Maybe get lucky and win a super bowl and then trade him. There will be teams that will take him with that big contract and still give up a lot of high draft picks for him
QBs getting 50M+ as they’re considered the premium position of an offense, having to know other positions assignments, play alignment and reading defenses. More data I’m sure.
Does an edge rusher constitute the same level of knowledge on a defense, does he wear the famous ‘green dot’? I’m not sure but I’m not a GM authorizing payouts.
Seems player see the cap increase and they want all of that increase and most haven’t increased their production yet they just get older and maybe slower.
Who’s going to be the 100M per year guy and should that be expected in the next couple years?
At this rate an older Kirk Cousins…
“It’s All About The QB”. Mouth-Breather Sportsball to the Maxx!
Will Will do it???
It sounds crazy, but the cap is climbing astronomically by the year, and if the NFL gets its way, it’ll absolutely go bonkers when they renegotiate their TV deals (unless, of course, the government actually decides to do something about it with this inquiry). It is insane that these guys are making this much as individual players, but that’s what we said for $25 million quarterbacks less than a decade ago. From a cap perspective, in this current age of significant yearly cap increases, it currently looks better to do a deal early than to do it late…even if it is a megadeal.
CAP
I’d much rather pay Anderson 50 then Stroud anywhere close to 60+.
NFL contracts are not really guaranteed so so a lot of the numbers are made to be bigger than what really gets paid.
Albert Breer of AI.com
The overpayment of edges in this league is ridiculous. One defensive player that can be double teamed or schemed for is not worth QB money.
As salary cap keeps going up spread the money out to all the players don’t overpay edges, WRs CBs etc
$50M per year is just stupid.
It is disgusting.
You think the quarterback’s going to be upset? What about the rest of the team that contributes to every win.
I’m having a hard time seeing how you build a winning team with multiple players making over 50 million dollars a year.
I love the guy. I think he should be one of the top paid defensive ends. I’m just concerned as a fan that after signing him and our quarterback, which I think will happen, they’re going to end up like the Cincinnati Bengals. Couple of superstars and not much else. Really difficult to win like that unless you have a magic man playing quarterback like Patrick Mahomes and a Hall of Fame head coach. A once in a generation type talent and one of the most pivotal minds in the game over the last 20 years.