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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Houston Texans are rewarding one of their linebackers with a contract extension while allowing for him to cash in even more in a few years.
Henry To'oTo'o is being given a two-year, $16 million contract extension that could net him $1 million more if he reaches incentives, report NFL Network insiders Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport .
Rapoport added that To'oTo'o is "a key part of one of the NFL ’s best defenses."
In short, To'oTo'o is a tackling machine who can stay on the field for much of a game.
In his rookie season of 2023, To'oTo'o had 61 total tackles, but after that, he was moved into a starting role, explained Kyle Dvorchak of NBC Sports .
In his second and third seasons, To'oTo'o "has been a mainstay of Houston’s vaunted defense," Dvorchak said, and he's averaging 100 tackles per season.
Additionally, 16 of those tackles were for loss, including four sacks.
In his three seasons, he has added an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
"To’oTo’o was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract this season, but the Texans got out ahead of that and now have him locked up for two more years," Dvorchak explained.
If the next two years are anything like last year, the Texans will be getting their money's worth when it comes to playing time.
Last season, To'oTo'o played 79% of the Texans' defensive snaps and added some help on special teams as well, playing 17% of those plays, reports Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk .
That tracks, though, for a player who said on Wednesday that all he cares about is winning football games.
“I just wanna win," he told reporters at training camp . "I wanna make this organization the first organization to make it to the Super Bowl, to win the Super Bowl [for Houston]. I just want to be a winner. Win the play, win the down, win the game. My main goal is just to win. I don’t like losing. I want to win.”
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans praised To'oTo'o for his leadership on the team. Coincidentally, both he and To'oTo'o played linebacker at Alabama.
"Henry plays with passion and fire that rubs off on the other guys," he told reporters on Wednesday. "It's fun to watch him play ... We've got some wild and crazy guys running around who love to hit, love to play physical, but Henry is a guy I can always count on."
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