Nfl Transactions: Texans keep Sheldon Rankins on two-year deal with $12 million guaranteed
Sheldon Rankins agreed to a two-year contract with the Houston Texans that includes $12 million guaranteed, a move completed on the eve of free agency. The agreement adds another headline item to the latest nfl transactions, keeping the 31-year-old defensive tackle in Houston after a 17-start season.
Sheldon Rankins’ two-year Texans deal adds $12 million guaranteed
Rankins, 31, agreed to remain with Houston on a two-year deal that includes $12 million guaranteed. The contract keeps a veteran interior defender in place for the Texans as free agency approached, with the agreement described as coming together on the eve of the open market.
Houston’s decision to retain Rankins followed another defensive-line commitment in the same span: pass-rusher Danielle Hunter received a one-year, $40 million extension. The pairing of moves locked in two veterans on the front, with one deal spanning two years for Rankins and the other set as a one-year extension for Hunter.
Rankins started 17 games in 2025 and played 60% of defensive snaps
Rankins started all 17 games for Houston in 2025. Over that season, he recorded 35 total tackles, five tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, and 3. 0 sacks, while playing 60% of the Texans’ defensive snaps.
A separate accounting of Rankins’ 2025 production listed three sacks, 38 total pressures, 22 stops, five tackles for loss, and a fumble return touchdown. That same recap also described a 30-6 playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in which Rankins had 1. 5 sacks and a fumble return score.
Danielle Hunter’s $40 million extension joins a broader set of nfl transactions
The Texans’ recent defensive-line spending tied Rankins’ two-year deal and $12 million guaranteed to Hunter’s one-year, $40 million extension. Rankins entered the league as a first-round pick in the 2016 draft and has played 133 games with 90 starts across the Saints, Jets, Bengals, and Texans.
| Move | Team | Term | Key figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Rankins agreement | Texans | Two-year deal | $12 million guaranteed |
| Danielle Hunter extension | Texans | One-year extension | $40 million |
The next milestone for Houston’s offseason personnel calendar is free agency, with Rankins’ agreement finalized on the eve of that period. If Rankins matches his 2025 workload of 17 starts, Houston will again return a defensive tackle who played 60% of the team’s defensive snaps last season.
