Instant Grade: Texans Re-Sign Ed Ingram to Multi-Year Deal

The Houston Texans put pen to paper on their biggest free agent hitting the market this offseason by re-signing offensive guard Ed Ingram to a new three-year, $37.5 million deal, signing him on through the 2028 season, and locking in one of their best offensive linemen of 2025 for three years.

Sources: The #Texans and standout G Ed Ingram have agreed to terms on a 3-year, $37.5M deal to keep him in Houston.

Ingram gets $12.5M per year in a deal done by @AgentNicoleLynn of @KlutchSports. A priority for Houston, getting it done before free agency. pic.twitter.com/zcz9albxUn
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2026

There were some initial doubts on whether the Texans would be able to get a deal done with Ingram before the legal tampering window opened up around the league. Rumors connected the 27-year-old to potential big money on the market, and perhaps enough that could've swayed him away frrom Houston

But just under six hours to go until the floodgates opened around the NFL, the Texans front office and Ingram came to an agreement, and brings back perhaps Houston's most critical free agent of this entire offseason.

So, how did the Texans fare in the deal? Let's hand out an initial grade for the contract to determine just how well Houston made out by signing on Ingram on for the next three seasons:

At first glance, it feels like there's a lot more positives to the Texans' latest deal for Ingram as opposed to negatives.

For one, the Texans gain stability on the interior of their offensive line for the next three years; something that was already a goal for this front office heading into the offseason, but are able to do it by simply bringing back their talent from last season's roster.

Ingram, the Texans' best performing offensive lineman left from last year's roster, was graded a top-10 run blocking guard in the NFL in 2025 from PFF, along with being a top-20 graded guard overall.

Coming aboard from the Minnesota Vikings via a trade last offseason, Ingram had proven himself more than worthy of being a starting-caliber NFL guard in just one season with Houston. But that would also add to some speculation of just how much money that one year of production was worth when eyeing this week's free agency.

Jul 23, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans guard Ed Ingram (69) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Heading into the offseason, there were discussions of whether Ingram could be worth upwards of $15 to $18 million annually on his next deal that would've immediately placed him among the league's highest paid players at the position.

That chatter revolving around Ingram's potential value would then lead to some initial doubts of whether the Texans would be willing to bring him back at that type of price.

Considering Houston was unwilling to extend Tytus Howard at $20 million annually on his next contract, like he had gotten with the Cleveland Browns, it was reasonable to suspect Ingram's situation would pan out to be similar.

That would then mean they'd be looking for not one, but two new starting guards to roll out for 2026 in the event Ingram wasn't returning, and adds even more uncertainty for Houston's protection after showing positive signs in 2025.

The Texans instead decided to remain aggressive in establishing their offensive line for next season. They handed out a payday to Ingram, their best offensive lineman remaining on the roster, albeit not an outlandish number, and are ironing out another player set to start on their five-man unit in 2026 that Houston can have full confidence in rolling out.

Considering there were rumblings of Ingram being worth $15-18M annually, the #Texans getting him on this deal is great value.

PFF graded Ingram a top-10 run blocking guard in 2025. Re-signing him is massive for Houston’s offensive line to keep moving in the right direction https://t.co/iY06CDLtYN
— Jared Koch (@jjaredkoch) March 9, 2026

Therefore, when combining the Texans' glaring need on the offensive line, the ability to keep and reward a productive internal free agent like Ingram to bring him back on the roster, and signing him to an affordable contract, there's not much to dislike about Houston's decision to spend on his services before he's able to hit the negotiation table with other teams.

Sure, it may deplete their overall flexibility to spend big before the free agent market opens. But considering re-working the offensive line remains atop the list of the Texans' to-do list for this offseason, investing in that talent upfront is far from a poor way to spend your resources.

For that reason, Ingram's deal is well worth an A grade, and adds some further excitement to how the rest of free agency could pan out for the Texans once the legal tampering window opens.

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