HOUSTON - Texans veteran tight end Dalton Schultz isn't practicing Thursday for the second day in a row, raising questions about his availability for a Sunday night game against the Chicago Bears.
Schultz caught all three passes thrown to him Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts for 16 yards during a 29-27 win.
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If Schultz is unavailable Sunday night against the Chicago Bears, the Texans will lean on tight ends Brevin Jordan and Cade Stover. Chris Myarick was signed to the Texans' practice squad last week.
A fourth-round draft pick from Ohio State, Stover did a nice job as a lead blocker for running back Joe Mixon against the Colts.
"One thing about Cade is that from the moment he stepped in our facility he has been very smart and on it," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. "Anything that we have asked him to do, he is ready to go. He doesn't make mistakes, and that is a lot being said for a rookie. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes, he is where he is supposed to be and he enjoys playing the game of football. So for him to get at that fullback position, he was ready for it and he did a really good job of it."
Schultz was signed this offseason to a three-year, $36 million deal that includes $23.5 million fully guaranteed with a $7.5 million signing bonus, per a league source.
Schultz has fully guaranteed base salaries in 2024 and 2025 of $5 million and $11 million, respectively.
He is due an $11 million nonguaranteed base salary in 2026.
The deal was negotiated by veteran agent Steve Caric of Wasserman.
The former Dallas Cowboys franchise player has an annual $29,412 per game active roster bonus for a total of $500,000 each season if he is active for every game.
Schultz and the Texans wanted to keep working together and sources emphasized at the NFL scouting combine as a scenario expected to unfold.
"Schultz will be back with the Texans," a league source predicted.
Now, the Texans have back a proven receiving option for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback C.J. Stroud after they built chemistry last season.
"Run it back," Schultz wrote later on social media.
The Texans haven't used the franchise tag during general manager Nick Caserio's tenure and avoided having to do so with this deal.
Schultz, 27, is a reliable downfield target for Stroud. He caught 59 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns on 88 targets last season after leaving the Dallas Cowboys to sign a one-year deal with the Texans last year.
Schultz caught 10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For his career, he has 270 career passes for 2,757 yards and 22 touchdowns.
"Yeah, Dalton did a really nice job for us in the passing game on those two-minute drives where we were able to win a few games," Ryans said. "Dalton really showed up, in a situational football, third-down, he showed up making big catches for us."
The Cowboys previously retained Schultz with the franchise tag in 2022 before allowing him to test the free agent market last year.
The Texans signed Schultz to a one-year, $6.25 million deal last season. And they kept him at an average of $12 million annually, a significant raise.
Texans safety M.J. Stewart remains sidelined with a knee-quadriceps injury and is expected to miss the Bears game.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com