The Texans are signing veteran tight end Dalton Schultz to a three-year, $36 million contract that includes $23.5 million guaranteed, per a league source.
Schultz wanted to keep working together and sources emphasized at the NFL scouting combine as a scenario expected to unfold.
“Schultz will be back with the Texans,” a league source predicted.
The Texans haven’t used the franchise tag during general manager Nick Caserio’s tenure and avoided having to do so with this deal.
Schultz is a reliable downfield target for Stroud. He caught 59 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns on 88 targets last season after leaving the Dallas Cowboys to sign a one-year deal with the Texans.
“It has to be a part of your calculus, it’s really a fixed number,” Caserio said. “Anytime you assign a tag to a player, it’s essentially, you’re committed to that value. Now, it doesn’t mean you can’t work out a long-term contract extension with that player, but it’s sort of a fixed number. It’s almost a starting point in a negotiation.
“So, you have to figure out is that valuable, does that make sense, or let the player get to the open market, let the market dictate what the value is. Honestly, it’s a little cat-and-mouse game, so you just try to take the information in, have a general understanding of the market and try to make a good decision.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sport Talk 790.
Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images