Houston Texans sign DE Sabastian Harsh

Sabastian Harsh's three-year, $3.1M deal with the Houston Texans earns a fair-deal grade on the Contract Value Index (CVI), sitting squarely in the range you'd expect for a depth defensive end on a minimum-adjacent contract. At $1.04M AAV, the Texans are paying essentially roster-filler pricing, which means the bar for this deal to look smart in hindsight is refreshingly low — Harsh doesn't need to be a starter, he needs to be a reliable rotation piece who doesn't force the team to spend up for emergency cover. For a Houston defense looking to maintain its edge heading into a season where the Texans carry real AFC postseason ambitions off a 12-5 record, that kind of low-risk depth acquisition is exactly the type of quiet front-office work that holds a roster together. The CVI picture is complicated slightly by the contract structure — just $165K in guaranteed money on a three-year deal signals that the team holds virtually all the leverage here, with Harsh likely on a prove-it track with no meaningful financial commitment beyond Year 1 in practice. That structure is double-edged: it protects the team entirely if Harsh doesn't develop, but it also means he has little security and could be a cut candidate the moment a cheaper or more talented option emerges. At this salary tier, you're not acquiring a franchise-caliber pass rusher — you're buying a practice-squad-to-active-roster developmental piece and hoping he outperforms the contract. For the Texans, the math is almost impossible to regret.