Kaevon Merriweather

Career StatsD-

Year	Team	GP	INT	PD	Tkl
Career		43	—	2	49
2025		13	0	0	11
2024		14	0	1	17
2023		16

Season	Team	GP	Tkl	Sacks	INT	PD	Grade
2025		13	11	0.0	0	—	F F Bottom 5%
2024		14	17	1.0	0	—	F F Bottom 5%
2023		16	21	0.0	0	—	F F Bottom 5%

Grades reflect the player's performance in each season. Header grade shows the current season.

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

Net of age, position, and term, Kaevon Merriweather's deal earns a D- Contract Value Index. At $1.145M AAV, this is a replacement-level safety contract for a third-year player who produced just 11 tackles across 13 games in 2025, and the performance grade of D- reflects the gap between his cost and his on-field output—there's minimal upside to justify even a modest salary commitment. The safety market has shifted toward proven coverage specialists and physical run-stuffers, but Merriweather occupies neither lane convincingly; his current salary floor is reasonable for a developmental piece, but only if the Texans view him as emergency depth, which the practice squad designation confirms they do. At 26, he's past the typical development window for a three-year pro, and the CVI takes that career stage into account—a younger prospect might earn more credit for growing into the role, but Merriweather's minimal counting stats and the organization's active pursuit of legitimate secondary contributors suggest this is a show-me deal rather than an investment thesis. The media framing as "basic roster maintenance" and the team's recent signings of established defensive backs underscore the limited expectations; unless Merriweather forces his way into meaningful snaps, the D- grade will remain standing at contract renewal.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the D band — a quick read on where Kaevon's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Per-game impact for Kaevon Merriweather pencils out to a D- performance grade. The 26-year-old third-year safety is operating at replacement-level tier, the kind of depth piece Houston cycles through annually to fill emergency slots rather than build around in meaningful ways. His 2025 season production of 11 tackles across 13 games underscores that modest floor — not injury-prone enough to lose reps, but not productive enough to demand them either. The tackle count represents his primary statistical contribution; anything beyond that is immaterial to his standing in a competitive safety rotation. Merriweather's practice squad designation and the media framing around his signing as "low-impact depth" rather than a developmental prospect aligns perfectly with the on-field reality: he's insurance against injury, not the answer to any positional need. With the Texans already having added Reed Blankenship and Marte Mapu in the secondary this offseason, Merriweather slots in as the long-tail depth option, unlikely to see meaningful snaps unless the injury gods strike. His third-year timeline offers no trajectory for improvement; this is the ceiling, and Houston's front office knows it.

How Kaevon Compares at the Position

Kaevon Merriweather ranks 180th of 196 graded safeties by performance. That slots Kaevon between Daijahn Anthony (D-) just ahead and Jay Ward (D-) just behind.

Fan Sentiment

Kaevon Merriweather's public standing with the Houston Texans sits at a D+, and the collective media shrug surrounding his practice squad signing makes that grade feel generous. Coverage has been minimal but consistent — five headlines framing this as a low-impact depth move, characterizing the former Buccaneers safety as emergency insurance rather than a meaningful addition to the defensive backfield. That narrative tracks with his on-field production, where a performance grade of F reinforces the perception of a replacement-level player unlikely to command meaningful snaps in a competitive safety rotation. The context surrounding Houston's offseason makes Merriweather's addition feel even smaller by comparison — the Texans have been active securing legitimate contributors, signing Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller, Reed Blankenship, and Marte Mapu, moves that generated real organizational excitement and pushed Merriweather's signing further down the priority list. His 2025 season numbers — 11 tackles across 13 games — underscore the depth-piece designation rather than challenge it. The sentiment trend has ticked upward from D- to D+ over the last 30 days, but that modest improvement reflects stabilization at the bottom of the depth chart, not any genuine buzz about his role expanding. The bottom line is that fans and media alike view this as basic roster maintenance, and until Merriweather demonstrates something that forces the conversation, that framing is unlikely to change.