HOUSTON – When veteran defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi was contemplating where to go for his next NFL employment, he was looking for several key things beyond his contract.
Fatukasi was seeking a place where he could grow as a player and as a person and be a part of something with a lot of potential. Most of all, he wanted to win in his seventh season in the NFL.
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Consider every box checked for Fatukasi, who has battled through foot and ankle injuries to emerge again as a vital run-stopper for the AFC South champion Texans’ defense heading into their AFC divisional round playoff game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
“Look around, really great players,” Fatukasi told KPRC 2 as he looked around the Texans’ locker room after the playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers. “This is the best team I’ve ever been on. Just to really see how everyone comes together and has each others’ backs, it’s amazing to watch. Both sides of the ball, it’s really fun to see.”
#Texans veteran defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi 'We have some really great players. This is the best team I've ever been on' @KPRC2https://t.co/gkJ6KlcxFM
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 12, 2025
It was Fatukasi who delivered a key tackle for a loss of two yards on Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins in a 32-12 AFC wild-card round playoff victory to hold them to an early field goal Saturday. Fatukasi’s size and instincts make a difference in the Texans’ defense, which stonewalled the Chargers running game for just 50 rushing yards on 18 carries as Dobbins gained just 26 yards on nine carries for an average of 2.9 yards per carry.
Fatukasi, signed to a one-year, $5.125 million that included a $3.125 million signing bonus and $4.625 million total guaranteed, was previously with the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Limited to 11 games this season due to injuries, Fatukasi is healthy again after recording 24 tackles, four for losses, three quarterback hits and one sack in the regular
“Foley’s another guy, he’s had some up and down moments throughout the year dealing with injuries, but he worked in the background when no one else was watching,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He was working to get himself back healthy to help our team and as soon as he gets back out, you instantly see the impact he has when it comes to, first and foremost, the run game. We talk about playing physical up front in the run game, he made a nice third down stop versus the Chargers because of his physicality on the interior of the D-line.
“And we’ve been missing that and that helps when you can have a guy play stout, play physical as Foley plays, it helps us to play really good run defense and that’s always the No. 1 key. When we line up, we have to stop the run to make teams one dimensional and having Foley has been a huge reason to why we were able to play good run defense last week.”
After competing against the Texans for two seasons in the division for the Jaguars , he signed with the defending AFC South champions after being released in March two years into a three-year, $30 million contract.
Deeply religious, Fatukasi believes it’s all part of a bigger plan.
“I’m a person not to come off as a preacher, but I really personally believe that Jesus Christ has a plan,” he said. “So, let me stay with a growth mindset, stay productive, trust in his plan and see how it works out. It turned out well. The game plan was for us to keep things simple, be reactive to what we were being given and just play ball. We kept it that simple.”
Now, the Texans are getting ready for the next stage in the playoffs.
As former NFL coach and Bill Parcells was fond of saying, once you’re in the tournament, anything is possible.
“We’re in the tournament, we’ve got some really confident guys, everybody in here is confident,” Fatukasi said. “Not to sound like a preacher, but we have a strong belief in Christ, a strong belief in what we’re able to get done and what we’re capable of doing.”
Since joining the Texans, Fatukasi has been establishing himself as a heavyweight force at the line of scrimmage. Fatukasi is an athletic, strong, 6-foot-4, 318-pound former Jets sixth-round draft pick from Connecticut.
Fatukasi is part of a talented defensive line that includes Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr., the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, and is among several newcomers, including four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter, veteran defensive end Denico Autry and fellow defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr.
“Really smart players, really intuitive with their craft so I get to learn from them, take some stuff from them that I can add to my game,” Fatukasi said. “It has been really enlightening working with these guys, there are things that I can figure out about myself though them, things that they teach me about. It has been pretty impactful for me.”
For Fatukasi, 29, there’s a comfort zone within Ryans’ aggressive 4-3 scheme. It’s the same system he was a part of with the Jets where he played for Robert Saleh, the former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, who was replaced with the NFC West franchise when Ryans was promoted after Saleh was hired by New York. He played for Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke with the Jets.
“I have played in this defense before with New York, but one thing that really stood out to me the most was that I feel like was the place that I could come to and really keep ascending as a player and really keep growing,” Fatukasi said. “Coach DeMeco and all of the coaching staff, everybody from top to bottom, really promotes the idea and ideology of growth. It is something I felt like I really needed, if you want to continue to ascend as a player that is the environment that you want to be around and that is what I am really happy about..”
At the heart of what Fatukasi does is the gritty, often unrecognized battle in the trenches. It’s his responsibility to hold strong at the point of attack.
“I think the more important thing is, are you doing your job?” Fatukasi said. “Are you contributing to the team and that are you not hurting your team? And are you bringing out the best version of yourself on a day-to-day basis? Do stats matter? Yeah, of course they do.
“But at the end of the day, can we turn on the film and say that this guy is doing what he needs to do? I think that is the most important part about this game and being an interior guy is just not being selfish. That is detrimental to the team, that is detrimental to your brothers, but being effective in your job in the way that you are supposed to do things.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.