Houston Texans DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

The Houston Texans re-signed kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn to a three-year, $15.9 million deal on Wednesday, according to a source. Fairbairn's average annual value of $5.3 million makes him the fourth-highest paid kicker in the league on a yearly basis. The 30-year-old kicked in a career-low 12 games in 2023 due to injury, but he was solid when he was active, making 96.4 percent of his 28 field-goal attempts while missing just one of his 22 extra-point tries during the regular season. All seven of his NFL seasons have come with the Texans, and he's made 87.1 percent of his 201 field-goal attempts in that time. With young quarterback C.J. Stroud leading what should be an explosive Houston offense for years to come, Fairbairn's fantasy needle is pointing up heading into 2024.

The Houston Texans agreed to a three-year, $36 million deal to re-sign tight end Dalton Schultz on Tuesday with $23.5 million fully guaranteed at signing, according to sources. Schultz will now remain a key weapon for second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud. Schultz was the top tight end scheduled to be a free agent this year, but the Texans made sure he wouldn't make it to the open market. The 27-year-old was a bit inconsistent for fantasy managers in 2023 in his first year in Houston, but his fantasy arrow is pointing up now that he's staying in Houston with Stroud, who looked like a seasoned veteran in his rookie year. In 15 regular-season games last year, Schultz finished as the No. 10 tight end in half-point PPR scoring, securing 59 of his 88 targets for 635 yards and five touchdowns.

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins made it known that he'd be open to contract-extension talks if the team approached him. After three seasons in the NFL, Collins is now eligible for an extension. He'll be entering the final year of his four-year, $4.871 million rookie contract in 2024, which includes a $902,990 signing bonus and a base salary of $1.324 million this year. "Oh man, I would love that," Collins said when asked about potentially launching early contract discussions. "That would be great." Coming off a breakthrough 2023 campaign in which he caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 regular-season games, Collins will be in high demands in fantasy drafts this fall while paired with impressive young quarterback C.J. Stroud. In two playoff games, Collins had 11 receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown on 17 targets.

The Cleveland Browns want to keep running back Nick Chubb (knee) around, but he's also recovering from two surgeries on his injured knee this offseason and is due to carry a salary cap charge of just under $16 million in 2024, the final year of his contract and his age-28 season. The Browns would take on around $4 million in dead money if they were to cut Chubb. The Athletic's Zac Jackson points out that Chubb's contract was structured long before his injury. When healthy, Chubb has been one of the league's best RBs, but the Browns also need to account for every penny on their salary cap now and into the foreseeable future. Chubb will mostly likely be back in 2024, but he'll be a risk/reward fantasy selection coming off a gruesome knee injury early last year.

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (leg) is making a sound recovery from a broken fibula in his rookie season and said that he's expecting to be back for organized team activities this spring. The 24-year-old hasn't had any setbacks after having surgery 10 and a half weeks, and he also started doing pool work last month. Barring a setback, Dell should be ready to roll for the start of training camp this summer. The third-round pick amazed in his rookie season in 2023 while working with quarterback C.J. Stroud before breaking his leg, catching 47 of 75 targets for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in his first year in the NFL. Dell has as much upside of any young receiver in the game with Stroud as his QB, and he'll be expensive in fantasy drafts this fall heading into Year 2.