Texans’ Ed Ingram Reveals Why He Re-Signed in Houston

Before the legal tampering window of NFL free agency officially kicked off, the Houston Texans inked a contract extension for one of their most critical names hitting the open market in right guard Ed Ingram.

Ingram, the Texans' starting right guard for 16 games in 2025, put pen to paper on a three-year, $37.5 million deal returning to Houston through the 2028 season, and answers a major question on the interior of their offensive front for the foreseeable future.

The deal seemed to come together as an easy decision for Ingram too. In an interview with KPRC2's Aaron Wilson explaining why he returned to Houston, he credited the culture and system under offensive line coach Cole Popovich that made him want to stay onboard for the future.

“I really like it here,” Ingram told Wilson. “I fit into the system. Thinking about the future, I would like to start my family here. I feel like us keeping most of our guys together creates that cohesiveness and we can continue to stack what we did in our first year here playing for Cole Popovich. "

“The culture here is second to none," he said. "The whole reason I got paid is I locked in for a year and Cole he challenges us every day. He doesn’t let us get complacent...I improved. We can continue to stack what we did the first year under Cole Popovich. Imagine what he can do with us next season.”

Ed Ingram Confident Texans Can Keep Improving Offensive Line

Last year, Ingram put together his best season since entering the NFL in 2022 as a second round pick to the Minnesota Vikings.

PFF graded Ingram among the top ten run-blocking guards in the league last season, and one of the top 20 graded guards altogether for the 16 games that he played.

That strong season would then implement some doubts of whether the Texans would be willing to re-sign Ingram as he headed into restricted free agency this offseason. Reports indicated he could be searching for around $15-$18 million per year on his next contract, and made the final few hours before the market officially opened critical for Houston to get a deal done.

In the end, the Texans were willing to be aggressive to keep that talent on the roster and locked in for the next three years as a staple in the trenches for Houston, and at a deal that comes in at less than $13 million a season––far less than what initial rumors had speculated before the official deal came to form.

Oct 5, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Houston Texans guard Ed Ingram (69) during play against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Keyon Martin (38) during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

That signing for Ingram would also be one of multiple strong investments made on the offensive line by Nick Caserio and Co. to start the offseason, as the Texans also straightened out the right side of their line next to Ingram by signing Indianapolis Colts tackle Braden Smith on a $20 million deal for the next two seasons.

Now with both Ingram and Smith locked in, you can start to see the pieces slowly being put together for a relatively improved offensive line from what was rolled out in Houston through 2025, and there's still more work to be done.

Even without Tytus Howard to fill in as a versatile piece on the interior, a couple more offensive line additions via free agency in the draft, combined with the continuity that both Ingram and Aireontae Ersery can bring, C.J. Stroud should have a much better outlook for the protection in front of him for 2026.

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