Cal McNair, Hannah McNair ‘excited’ about state of Texans, Toro District plans, Will Anderson Jr. and C.J. Stroud

PHOENIX – Inside the hallways of the posh Arizona Biltmore following activity-packed days of league briefings and committee work during the NFL meetings, the conversation shifted for Cal McNair and Hannah McNair.

Back to football.

The state of the Texans, after three consecutive playoff appearances and AFC divisional round losses, is a positive one. The Texans are a contender with a talented roster that appears to be on the cusp of breaking through on the heels of an offseason spending spree.

The Texans didn’t just run it back after losing to the New England Patriots in a snowy playoff game at Gillette Stadium. They added multiple new players and made some expensive financial investments.

The primary roster-boosting agenda: upgrade the offensive line and running game with proven, hard-nosed veterans to complement quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Basically, the goal was to improve the offense to go with the top-ranked defense in the league.

Between retaining offensive guard Ed Ingram on a three-year, $37.5 million contract and bolstering the line with right tackle Braden Smith on a two-year, $25 million deal and former All-Pro guard Wyatt Teller for two years, $23 million and trading with the Detroit Lions to acquire running back David Montgomery and signing him to a two-year, $16.5 million contract and adding former Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship on a three-year, $24.75 million deal and former University of Houston defensive lineman Logan Hall on a two-year, $13.75 million deal with $9 million guaranteed, it’s been a whirlwind of additions.

“This was been a fun part with the free agency and getting a few of our guys signed back, I think was important, and then bringing in some guys with some toughness and attitudes, what they were looking for,” Texans principal owner, chairman and CEO Cal McNair said as the NFL meetings wrapped up. “Hopefully, they did that. I think they did. Adding the running back, the safety, and some of those key areas are really going to help us moving forward.

“We’re excited that the holes are filled with where they think we are. And you go into the draft and pick the very best player. And that’s how you build the best team is picking the best player in the draft. And so that’s where we should be. And then we’ll continue through the spring and summer and try to get better all, like you said, all year round.”

And the Texans made Ka’imi Fairbairn the highest paid kicker in the NFL on a deal averaging $6.5 million annually a long with a fully guaranteed $40.1 million extension for Pro Bowl edge Danielle Hunter and a one-year, $12.6 million deal for tight end Dalton Schultz and a two-year, $17 million deal for defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.

The Texans spent a lot of time evaluating where they stood after a difficult ending to the season. The conclusion: try to maintain the bulk of the roster while adding key chess pieces to the equation.

“It was hard because you really felt like we were there,” Texans chief community officer Hannah McNair said. “And you had all the opportunities. It was hard to come up short. I think our defense, they played incredible. I think our offense really tried to go out and give their best, came up short. I think everybody has taken that and taken it into the offseason and are working really hard. DeMeco likes a certain type of player, and I think you see that on the roster.

“They work hard. They have the swarm mentality. When you look at our roster and even the offseason, the ones we’ve added, I think you’re seeing it’s those type of guys that he likes on this team. I think they’ve been working hard in the offseason. I think we’ll get better.”

The Texans finished 12-5 in the regular season, including a nine-game winning streak, after an 0-3 start. They became the seventh team in the Super Bowl era to make the playoffs after going winless in the first three games. They won seven of those nine games in one-possession games and earned the wild-card spot. They won their first road playoff game in franchise history.

“We won a lot of games in a row, which were awesome,” Cal McNair said. “We came back against Jacksonville in that game to start us on that streak. So, there were a lot of good things, too. That shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle.

“We made the playoffs and went through the first round and had a chance, really, to go past that second game. No telling how far we would have gone. And that’s what we want to keep putting ourselves in position to do, get in the playoffs and have a chance to move forward.”

For several years, there was a recurring lament within the Texans organization accompanied by a growing vision.

The Texans wanted their own state-of-the-art training facility and a team headquarters that could house players, coaches and all of their staff under the same roof.

The AFC South franchise shares NRG Stadium, the site of their games, with the rodeo along with concerts and other events held there throughout the year. And that has created frequent spacing and scheduling conflicts as they conducted practices during the season along with training camp and offseason activities.

The Texans long wanted something modern for the team they could both call their own, and something they could share with the community.

They are planning a cutting-edge training facility, and team headquarters building across 22 acres as the centerpiece of an 83-acre sports and entertainment complex development set for Bridgeland in Northwest Harris County.

It will be called Toro District.

The Texans, in a collaboration with Harris County and Howard Hughes Holdings, the developers of Bridgeland, The Woodlands and Summerlin in the Las Vegas area, plan to break ground this year and move into their new digs during the summer of 2029.

The Texans had clearly outgrown NRG Stadium and needed more space to operate.

“It’s exciting, but we’ve been looking at this for quite some time,” Hannah McNair said. “And when we thought about a headquarters, we knew what we needed to do. We knew what we needed, first of all. We’re in the stadium.

“We’ve been there a long time. We ran into a lot of roadblocks while we’re there because we are the tenant. And then how do we connect all of that with the community and make this really just state-of-the-art, world-class that connects football with the community.”

In an expanded leadership role, the Texans recently named Hannah McNair their chief community officer.

That’s in addition to her Texans foundation vice president role. She has been instrumental to the Texans’ growth, including the planned development of Toro District.

McNair has been pushing for girls flag football to become a sanctioned sport in the state of Texans.

The Texans girls flag football program launched in 2023 has more than 150 high schools and over 3,750 female athletes across the state.

She is a member of the NFL Flag Football working group started last year to guide the sport’s global growth and inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.

McNair has been a consistent and dedicated supporter of the greater Houston community, including leading disaster relief efforts.

“It doesn’t change my motivation or why I do what I do,” said Hannah McNair, who cited the example of Cal McNair’s mother and Texans co-founder Janice McNair as inspirational. “I’ve been involved with the foundation since 2009 and with Janice’s mentorship and just how she’s taught me just so much how the community is why we do this, I think my growth in that area, I’m just so grateful for her and her leadership.”

Added Cal McNair: “I don’t know that it will change what she does because she does so much. But it’s more of a reflection that the outside folks can look and see how much we value her and how much that function means to us in outreach. Naming someone of Hannah’s caliber as an executive to lead that function kind of lets the outside people know that’s really important to us. So, that was a lot of our motivation as well.”

This year, the Texans will celebrate their 25th season since joining the NFL as an expansion franchise under the direction of the late owner Bob McNair, Cal McNair’s father.

Cal McNair said they plan to have a commemorative patch on their jerseys.

The Texans will debut a new Nike Rivalries uniform as part of an announced NFL initiative featuring designs rooted in local community, history and competition. They will be worn for a home game against an AFC South division rival.

“I think there will be a lot of things just honoring our past that you’ll see that are exciting,” Hannah McNair said. “We’ve got a great department that goes through and combs through all the history to make sure we really highlight what matters.”

The Texans have displayed a willingness and capability to draft and develop homegrown players and reward them with lucrative contract extensions to keep them in place for several years. That includes a three-year, $90 million extension last year for All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr.

Now, Texans All-Pro defensive end and NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist Will Anderson Jr. and Stroud, a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, are eligible for contract extensions under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Discussions for a potential blockbuster contract extensions expected to make Anderson the highest paid defensive player in the league are already afoot, led by Texans general manager Nick Caserio, with no deal imminent at this time, per league sources. It’s regarded as a matter of when, not if, that Anderson will land a huge new deal.

Stroud is expected to not get a new deal this year and the team is expected to exercise its fifth-year club option to keep him under contract through the 2027 season with a $25.9 million guaranteed salary. Heading into a pivotal year, if Stroud regains his rookie form, the Texans would be happy to commit to him on a long-term basis.

Without getting into any specifics about their plans, the McNair’s declared strongly how they feel about both players.

“We’ll let DeMeco and Nick make the football decisions there, but they’re exciting, really good young players,” Cal McNair said. “We’ll hope to have them around for a long, long time.”

A year from now, cornerback Kamari Lassiter and safety Calen Bullock will be eligible for extensions. Both were named to the Pro Bowl games as alternates this year.

“It’s a good problem to have when you have so many guys you want to keep under contract,” Hannah McNair said. “So, if we keep drafting the way we do, this is just going to be something we talk about every year.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com