Houston Texans sign P Jack Stonehouse

Jack Stonehouse's three-year, $3.1M deal with the Houston Texans earns a fair-to-middling Contract Value Index (CVI) grade of C+, which about sums up what this signing is — a perfectly serviceable depth move that doesn't excite or alarm. At a $1.04M AAV, this is a near-minimum commitment for a specialist, and punter contracts at this range are essentially budget-line roster decisions rather than cap-shaping ones. The concern isn't the salary — it's the extremely thin contractual protection on Houston's side, with just $75K guaranteed on a three-year deal, which signals this is closer to a prove-it arrangement than a genuine long-term commitment. That near-zero guarantee structure is standard fare for a replacement-level specialist signing, and it tells you everything you need to know about how the Texans view Stonehouse's current standing on the depth chart. With the regular season still 124 days out, there's runway for Stonehouse to compete for the job, but the CVI here reflects the reality that this is a low-conviction bet at a low-conviction position. The Texans aren't betting big — they're buying a lottery ticket at a dollar-store price, which is defensible roster management even if it's far from a steal.