Today, the Houston Texans finally took the first official step towards locking up their best young edge defender since the legendary, and soon-to-be- NFL Hall of Famer, J.J. Watt.
According to multiple reports, the team decided to pick up the fifth-year option for 24-year old star defensive end Will Anderson Jr. ahead of the May 1st deadline (no shocker there). The move secures his stay in Houston through the 2027 season, with a fully guaranteed rate of $21.5 million. It was an expected decision, as Anderson has been one of the game’s most dominating players since his debut out of Alabama in 2023. It’s also seen as the procedural next step in a team’s planning to lock up a vital piece to a generationally enriched long-term extension.
As such, there’s now only one logical next step after Houston’s “down payment” of a transaction involving the fourth-year Houstonian. In the words of famous philosopher, and best cornerback in NFL history, Deion Luwynn “Primetime” Sanders: Pay. That. Man.
Texans paying Will Anderson Jr. is the only logical next step
KPRC 2’s Texans Insider Aaron Wilson identified the move as the "precursor" to the eventual “blockbuster” contract that Houston will inevitably give to 2025’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. It makes all the sense in the world to lock Anderson up as soon as possible, given the league’s already expensive economic standing and Anderson’s accolades only increasing by the season.
With two Pro-Bowls, a First Team All-Pro selection and the aforementioned Defensive Player of the Year runner-up finish in only three professional seasons, he’s now in line to potentially secure what could be the largest contract ever given out for a non-quarterback in NFL history.
This would eclipse the pact received by Green Bay Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons, who signed a four-year, $186 million contract ($123.1 million guaranteed at signing, $136 million total guaranteed) before this past season. That gave Parsons the league’s number one spot in total average salary for a defensive player at $46.5 million.
Anderson’s new deal could make him richest defender in the NFL today
A theoretical guess for Anderson could be a deal with the parameters of four years and $190 million, with $125 million guaranteed at signing and $140 million in total guarantees. That would make him the league’s new leader in average salary at $47.5 million, a full $1 million more than Parsons.
It would fit the “market setting” narrative that’s been floated about Anderson’s impending deal, and would lift him into the upper echelon of highest-paid players in franchise history, alongside Watt, former quarterback Deshaun Watson, former running back Arian Foster, current defensive end Danielle Hunter and current cornerback Derek Stingley Jr..