Texans To Sign DE Logan Hall
Following a standout collegiate career with the Cougars, Logan Hall is heading back to Houston. The free agent defensive end is joining the Texans, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
It’s a two-year deal for Hall, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The defensive lineman will earn around $7MM per season.
The Houston product earned first-team All-AAC honors in 2021 after finishing with six sacks and 13 tackles for loss, leading to him being selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2022 draft. The defensive lineman ended up starting 39 of his 66 appearances in Tampa Bay, although he never got into more than 60 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in any of his four seasons.
Following a 5.5-sack showing in 2024, Hall was limited to 1.5 sacks in 2025 despite starting a career-high 16 games. Pro Football Focus has generally graded him as a middle-of-the-road interior defender, although they ranked him 40th among 127 qualifiers this past year.
Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson will continue to command snaps at defensive end, but Hall should be a more-than-serviceable option behind that duo. Derek Barnett is currently unsigned after garnering 388 snaps at the position in 2025. The Texans previously added some DE depth in Dominique Robinson.
Texans To Acquire P Kai Kroeger From Saints
Punter action has been plentiful during the first two days of free agency. Now, we have a punter trade to process. The Saints are sending their punter — Kai Kroeger — to the Texans, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.
[RELATED: Saints, P Ryan Wright Agree To Deal]
Kroeger and a 2028 seventh-round pick are headed to Houston, while New Orleans will receive a 2028 sixth-rounder. As a former UDFA, Kroeger is extension-eligible. Two years remain on Kroeger’s rookie contract; he punted in 17 games for the Saints as a rookie.
The South Carolina product initially joined the Jets as a UDFA but he was waived in late July. He was subsequently scooped up by the Saints, who were quick to make him their starting punter. The rookie was relatively productive in 2025, averaging 44.8 yards on his 56 punts, 18 of which landed inside the 20. While it wasn’t entirely his fault, Kroeger finished tied for the league-lead with two blocked punts.
However, the Saints pivoted at the position yesterday when they signed former Vikings punter Ryan Wright. That made Kroeger expendable, and now the sophomore is on his way to Houston. The Texans leaned on Tommy Townsend over the past two seasons, but the free agent apparently won’t be back in Houston for a third year.
Texans To Sign RT Braden Smith
After eight years with the Colts, right tackle Braden Smith is signing with the AFC South rival Texans, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports. It’s a two-year, $25MM agreement with $13.5MM in fully guaranteed money, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Once the highest-paid right tackle in the NFL, Smith wrapped up a four-year, $72MM contract in 2025. Until now, the 6-foot-6, 312-pound Smith spent his entire career with the Colts.
As the 37th overall pick in 2018, the ex-Auburn Tiger became a full-time starter in his rookie season. He came off the bench twice that year, but Smith has started in the rest of his 105 appearances in the league. However, availability has been an issue throughout Smith’s career. Smith has missed a total of 26 games, and he put together his lone full season back in 2019.
Five of Smith’s absences came while he left the Colts to seek treament for obsessive compulsive disorder in 2024. Smith told his wife he would have retired had the issue persisted. Fortunately, Smith was able to continue his career last season. He played in 13 games, his most since 2022, but his year ended with a stint on IR. The Colts shut Smith down in mid-December as a result of a concussion and neck injury. He finished as Pro Football Focus’ 48th-ranked tackle out of 84 qualifiers.
The Smith pickup is the first outside O-line acquisition this offseason for the Texans. The team traded guard/tackle Tytus Howard to Cleveland and shipped interior lineman Juice Scruggs to Detroit last week. The Texans have since re-signed tackle Trent Brown and brought back right guard Ed Ingram. The bulk of Howard’s work came at right tackle last season, but Smith could slide in as his replacement next to Ingram.
Texans To Extend K Kaʻimi Fairbairn
Tuesday afternoon has brought about more in the way of kicker news. The Texans have worked out a new deal with Kaʻimi Fairbairn. 
Fairbairn has agreed to two-year, $13MM extension, Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. As a result, he is now on the books through 2028. The $6.5MM average annual value of this extension is the highest in league history for kickers.
In 2024, Fairbairn inked a Houston deal worth an average of $5.3MM per year. A healthy raise has now been worked out in the wake of his continued strong play. The nine-year veteran led the NFL in made field goals this past season, connecting on 44 of 48 attempts. Each of his four misses came from beyond 50 yards, and Fairbairn topped 90% in terms of accuracy for the third time in the past four seasons.
The 32-year-old also connected on each of his extra point attempts in 2025, doing so for the second time in his career. High-level play will be counted on for years to come in Fairbairn’s case. This marks the latest in-house player for Houston to receive a new deal on the eve of the new league year. The likes of Danielle Hunter, Sheldon Rankins and Dalton Schultz have worked out new Texans contracts in recent days. Fairbairn now joins them in that respect.
Harrison Butker‘s $6.4MM-per-year-pact led the way in terms of kicker deals entering Tuesday. The market has now seen a small upward move. It will be interesting to see how this affects future contracts at the position. In any case, Fairbairn’s Houston future has been assured beyond 2026.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/26
Here are the minor move from a frenzied free agency first day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Natrone Brooks, LB Christian Harris, DE Cameron Thomas
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: P Mitch Wishnowsky
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Akayleb Evans, CB Robert Rochell
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Dominique Robinson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OLB Dennis Gardeck
- Released: TE Johnny Mundt
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed to two-year deal: K Matt Gay
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LS Joe Cardona
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: TE Greg Dulcich
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Chris Manhertz
New York Jets
- Signed: FB Andrew Beck
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DL Esezi Otomewo
Texans To Sign S Reed Blankenship
The Eagles are losing yet another defensive free agent. This time it’s safety Reed Blankenship, who is signing with the Texans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Blakenship is signing a three-year deal with Houston, per Schefter. The contract is worth $24.75MM.
The safety was a key find by the Eagles front office, as Blankenship joined the Eagles as a UDFA out of Middle Tennessee in 2022. He emerged as a starter during his sophomore campaign and proceeded to spend the next three years in Philly’s lineup. He had a standout campaign in 2023, finishing with 113 tackles and three interceptions, and he added another four picks during the team’s Super Bowl-winning campaign in 2024. That year, he was part of a defense that allowed the fewest passing yards in the NFL (174.2).
He started all 16 of his appearances this past season, finishing with 83 stops and one interception. After grading out as at least a top-30 safety through his first three NFL seasons, Pro Football Focus ranked him 89th among 91 qualifiers this past year. That grade was entirely brought down by his coverage score, although he graded much better as a run stopper.
While Calen Bullock was a mainstay in the lineup in 2025, the Texans shuffled through their other safeties, with all of M.J. Stewart, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jaylen Reed, and K’Von Wallace getting into at least one game where they appeared in 90-plus percent of Houston’s defensive snaps. Blankenship will provide some stability to that unit, where he’ll likely slide next to Bullock in the starting lineup. This move also allows Jalen Pitre, who got in 51 snaps at the position last season, to play as the full-time slot CB.
Meanwhile, the Eagles continue to endure some key subtractions from their defense. Fellow starters Jaelan Phillips (Panthers) and Nakobe Dean (Raiders) have also departed Philly via free agency today.
Texans To Re-Sign DT Sheldon Rankins
As the Texans hoped, Sheldon Rankins will be in the fold next season. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to a new Houston deal.
Rankins is signing a two-year contract with the Texans, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The pact includes $12MM in guarantees. Rankins will be counted on to remain a key presence on the team’s elite defense moving forward as a result of today’s news. An average annual value of “well over” $6MM is present in this new pact, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.
Rankins caught on for his second stint with the Texans last offseason, when he inked a one-year, $5.25MM deal. It was a bounceback season following his seven-game showing with the Bengals in 2024. Rankins finished the 2025 campaign with 35 tackles and three sacks while starting every game for the Texans. He also was a standout during Houston’s playoff win over the Steelers, when he returned a fumble for a touchdown. He ultimately finished the year ranked 27th among 127 qualifiers on Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings.
The former Saints first-round pick has had an up-and-down career, leading to him bouncing around the NFL a bit following his departure from New Orleans. Following a pair of forgettable seasons with the Jets, Rankins had been one of the best showings of his career with the Texans in 2023. He finished that year with 37 tackles and six sacks. That performance earned him a two-year deal with the Bengals, but he missed 10 games while nursing a hamstring and recovering from an illness in 2024. He was cut by Cincy last offseason.
Now, he’s seemingly found a home in Houston. Rankins will retain his starting gig next to Tommy Togiai in 2026. Tim Settle‘s departure could open up a depth role on the defensive line, so Rankins should have a relatively long leash.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Texans To Re-Sign G Ed Ingram
One of the many notable guards on track for free agency will not be testing the market. Ed Ingram will instead remain in place with the Texans.
Team and player have agreed to a three-year, $37.5MM deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. That includes $20MM fully guaranteed, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adding Ingram will receive a $14MM signing bonus. Offensive line additions will remain something to watch for in Houston’s case, but stability at one guard spot will be seen in 2026.
Ingram, whom the Vikings chose in the second round of the 2022 draft, was a full-time starter over his first two years. He fell out of favor in Minnesota in 2024, when he started in just nine of 16 appearances. The Vikings benched Ingram for good heading into Week 10. They shipped the Texas native to Houston for a sixth-round pick a year ago.
Ingram rebounded as a full-time starter in Houston, where he lined up at right guard during a 14-game, 1,072-snap campaign. Pro Football Focus ranked the 27-year-old’s performance 12th among 79 qualifying guards. He was especially effective as a run blocker (seventh overall), which bodes well for newly acquired RB David Montgomery.
Retaining Ingram is the second significant move the Texans have made along their offensive line this month. The club previously traded guard/tackle Tytus Howard to the Browns, leaving a void up front.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/26
We have some rare Sunday minor moves as the NFL closes in on the start of the new league year and the free agency frenzy that is sure to follow:
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: TE Nate Adkins
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: DT Naquan Jones
The Broncos continue to be proactive with pending RFA and ERFAs. Adkins was set to become a restricted free agent, but Denver has avoided that conclusion by re-signing him before the start of free agency.
Claimed last year in Houston, Jones is reportedly getting a one-year, $2MM deal to stay with the Texans, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Jones can earn another $500k on the new deal through incentives.
2026 NFL Trades
The modern NFL features four clear trade windows. Early March, the draft, the late-August 53-man roster-setting date and the November deadline reside as the primary points trades occur around the league. As the NFL resides in window No. 1 for 2026, it is a good time to check in on what has already transpired on the market.
Excluding pick-for-pick trades, here are the moves NFL teams have made thus far in 2026:
February 26
- Titans trade DT T’Vondre Sweat to Jets for DE Jermaine Johnson
March 2
- Browns to acquire OL Tytus Howard from Texans for No. 141
- Texans to obtain RB David Montgomery from Lions for OL Juice Scruggs, No. 128, 2027 seventh-round pick
March 4
- Rams to acquire CB Trent McDuffie from Chiefs for Nos. 29, 168, 210, 2027 third-round pick
March 5
- Bills to add WR D.J. Moore, No. 165 from Bears in exchange for No. 60
March 6
- Bears to acquire C Garrett Bradbury from Patriots for 2027 fifth-round pick
- Ravens to land OLB Maxx Crosby from Raiders for No. 14, 2027 first-round pick
Ravens nixed trade March 10, failing Crosby on a physical
March 7
- Packers to add LB Zaire Franklin from Colts for DT Colby Wooden
March 8
- Raiders to obtain CB Taron Johnson, No. 228 from Bills for No. 182
March 9
- Jets to acquire S Minkah Fitzpatrick from Dolphins for No. 238
- Cowboys to land OLB Rashan Gary from Packers for 2027 fourth-round pick
- Steelers to add WR Michael Pittman Jr., No. 230 from Colts for No. 214
March 10
- Jets to acquire QB Geno Smith, No. 228 from Raiders for No. 182
- Texans to obtain P Kai Kroeger, 2028 seventh-round pick from Saints for 2028 sixth-rounder
March 11
- Titans to add DL Solomon Thomas, No. 225 from Cowboys for No. 218
- 49ers to acquire DT Osa Odighizuwa from Cowboys for No. 92
March 16
- Chiefs to acquire QB Justin Fields, 2026 seventh-round pick to Jets for 2027 sixth-rounder
March 17
- Broncos to land WR Jaylen Waddle, No. 111 from Dolphins for Nos. 30, 94, 130
March 18
- Eagles to obtain QB Andy Dalton from Panthers for 2027 seventh-round pick