Former Vikings CB Gets New Deal with the Texans
Josh Frey
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This past season, the Houston Texans made a very surprising run to the playoffs.
After finishing the 2022 campaign with a 3-13-1 record, they had the second overall pick and landed QB C.J. Stroud with the pick. Under the guidance of that rookie QB, Houston improved to 10-7 in 2023, clinched the AFC South division title, and won a playoff game against the Cleveland Browns.
While Houston’s rookie class deserves a lot of credit for that bounce back year, a former Vikings CB was also involved down the stretch of the season. That player is Kris Boyd, and he has inked a new contract to remain with the Texans for the 2024 season.
Former Vikings CB Kris Boyd Remains with Texans
The news was reported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, who tweeted, “Texans also finalizing one year deal for corner and special teams contributor Kris Boyd per a league source @KPRC2.”
Boyd was selected as a seventh-round draft pick by the Vikings back in 2019, and he appeared in 58 games for Minnesota over his four years with the team, including six starts. In 2020 alone, he made five of those starts because of injuries that ravaged Minnesota’s secondary throughout the year. During that season, he recorded 34 tackles, a tackle for loss, 2 passes defended, and a forced fumble.
The CB has always been a special teams fiend, though, and over the past few years, this is where the majority of his snaps have come. During 2022 with the Vikings, he played just 37 snaps on defense but had 403 snaps with the special teams group. He recorded a key forced fumble during Minnesota’s win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 4.
Boyd left the Vikings following the 2022 season when his contract expired, opting to sign with the Arizona Cardinals. The fifth-year pro played each of the first four games this season for Arizona, and he made his impact felt exclusively on special teams, appearing in 63 snaps with the group.
However, Boyd was released by Arizona following their Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and he hopped on the Texans practice squad ahead of their Week 8 game against the Carolina Panthers. However, he didn’t make his first appearance in a Texans uniform until Week 17, playing 18 special teams snaps.
From that point on, Boyd became a staple part of Houston’s special teams units and appeared in 46 snaps with the unit during the Texans’ two playoff games. He also played 11 snaps with the defense during their Wild Card win over the Cleveland Browns.
Boyd will turn 28 years old in September. The Texans and Vikings will play at some point during the 2024 regular season, but the date for the game has not been set at this point in time.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.