The Houston Texans and the Offseason of the Offensive Line: Part II

How will the new free agents improve the Texans’ offensive line?

Welcome to part two of my three-part series covering the Offseason of the Offensive Line!

After delivering a rather scathing criticism of the offensive line, I believe the stage is set for a review of the free agent linemen that Houston was brought in.

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At the onset of free agency, reckoning came swiftly. The same three linemen that received the lion’s share of criticism had all been released or traded away, all gone within the first week of free agency. Kenyon Green was a foregone conclusion. Shaq Mason caught me a bit off guard, but wasn’t something beyond reason. But, when the Houston Texans traded Laremy Tunsil, it felt like the entire world froze in astonishment. Tunsil, regardless of your opinion on him, was a rock at the left tackle position for the Texans since 2019 and showed no sign of slowing down. Trading him to the Washington Commanders added a new level of severity to this offseason, and a new level of importance to the players the Nick Caserio-led front office would bring in to fill in the holes. In order to get the offensive line back on track, it’s now going to require even bigger investment than previously expected. So…who has Caserio brought in? Well, let’s just rip the band-aid off quickly.

GUARD LAKEN TOMLINSON

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

• Height: 6’ 3”
• Weight: 323 lbs.
• Age: 33
• 2024 Statistics: 1,094 snaps at LG (Seattle Seahawks), 62.1 PFF (65.1 pass blocking, 59.7 run blocking)

Laken Tomlinson is a solution to the open hole at left guard, but not an inspiring one. Since being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Duke, Tomlinson has been a consistent left guard that became one of San Francisco’s most impactful blockers from 2017-2021, making his only pro-bowl appearance in his last year there. In Kyle Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme, Tomlinson was a key piece to the rushing attack that opened holes for the likes of Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and others. Tomlinson has also had several years in a row of solid pass-blocking, and when you pair that with his connection to DeMeco Ryans in San Francisco, his allure to Caserio is very understandable.

However, upon leaving San Francisco for the…greener(?) pastures of the New York Jets, Tomlinson has been experiencing a dip in performance. ‘22 and ‘23 were two of his worst years, going from the bottom of the pressures list while on the 49ers to the top of the same list in New York. Fortunately, his one-season stop with the Seattle Seahawks in 2024 led to a bit of a rebound season, but still not quite back to San Francisco form. Reuniting with DeMeco Ryans in Houston may be just what the doctor ordered, but at age 33, you begin to wonder when age will become a factor. But, even if he were to be exactly like he was for Seattle in 2024, that would still be a major upgrade for Houston’s left guard spot. At the very least, he should be a big help in the rushing attack, hopefully to pair well with Juice Scruggs/Jarrett Patterson in opening up holes for Joe Mixon.

GUARD ED INGRAM

Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images

• Height: 6’ 3”
• Weight: 307 lbs.
• Age: 26
• 2024 Statistics: 580 snaps at RG, 54.0 PFF (49.1 pass blocking, 58.1 run blocking)

Ed Ingram has much less going for him than Laken Tomlinson. Once a hyped prospect taken in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, Ingram quickly got starting time and never lived up to expectations. Known for the staggering amount of pressures he gave up in route to getting benched in the middle of the 2024 season, Ingram has a habit of having truly terrible runs in pass-blocking, spoiling what otherwise is a milquetoast start to a starting guard’s career in the NFL.

He’s never looked like the next big thing, but Ingram has had a few performances in run-blocking at several junctures in his career (see: Week 3 vs. Chargers in 2023) – not unlike Laken Tomlinson. However, unlike Tomlinson, Ingram has rarely been able to translate this into good performances in pass-blocking, where his struggles are obvious. If he can get a little buffer and less prone to getting rushed, he’d be an adequate replacement for Shaq Mason – but I feel like this is wishful thinking. He’s more likely to continue to be a weak spot in Houston, likely to compete with Juice Scruggs or another lineman for the starting right guard spot during training camp.

TACKLE CAM ROBINSON

Photo by Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images

• Height: 6’ 6”
• Weight: 335 lbs.
• Age: 29 (30 in October)
• Statistics: 1,073 snaps at LT, 63.2 PFF (67.2 pass blocking, 60.0 run blocking)

Here’s the inevitable replacement to Laremy Tunsil. Cam Robinson has been a longtime, albeit unimpressive starter at left tackle since being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in round two of the 2017 NFL Draft. At a average of nearly 800 snaps a season and holding a pass-blocking rate of 67 or over on PFF the last four years is impressive, but it’s no secret that Cam Robinson has had some bad games. As Texans fans, we’ve had a front-row seat to his errors, giving up sacks from the likes of J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and then Jacob Martin! Now, that being said, Houston had far less success against Robinson in the 2020s, transforming into one of the glitter kitties’ more reliable linemen of the Trevor Lawrence era. And yet, the Jaguars still franchise-tagged him twice, benched him in his final game as a Jaguar in favor of Walker Little, and then traded him and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2026 conditional fifth-round pick that could become a fourth-rounder.

This sort of treatment wasn’t going to help his case in a contract year… and then his performance in Minnesota made things even worse. Few other tackles gave up more pressures than Cam Robinson in 2024, which isn’t exactly going to make me feel better about the Laremy Tunsil trade. At the very least, Cam Robinson is a capable starter at left tackle, and even though I am highly suspicious of his ability to replace Laremy Tunsil, he is talented enough to give the optimist in me hope for the future.

That wasn’t the only addition Houston would be making to the tackle room, though. On March 21, Adam Schefter reported that the Houston Texans signed free agent tackle Trent Brown to a one-year, $3 million deal.

TACKLE TRENT BROWN

• Height: 6’ 8”
• Weight: 370 lbs.
• Age: 32
• 2024 Statistics: 139 snaps at RT, 65.2 PFF (64.2 pass blocking, 68.4 run blocking)
• 2023 Statistics: 579 snaps at LT, 80.2 PFF (72.8 pass blocking, 80.7 run blocking)

Brown, an oft-injured starting tackle, has had a wealth of experience both at the left and right ends for multiple teams in his ten years in the NFL. Brown is a very talented tackle – all 6’8”, 370 lbs. of him – but he’s had his own selection of disastrous performances in recent history, along with a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee that ended his 2024 campaign with the Cincinnati Bengals in week three.

That contract says it all too. A one-year deal worth only $3 million tells us he is not expected to be a starter on either side of the line; those honors will go to Cam Robinson and Tytus Howard. If anything, Brown’s injury history makes him hard to rely on. But, he can make a great backup option in case of emergency…or, is this a sign of a bigger plan? Are the Texans trying to build an offensive line-by-committee?

Well, probably not, but maybe? Nick Caserio and the Texans have already tried the rotational approach to the defensive line in 2023 and 2024, and it has been a transformative success for the defense. Will they try to extend this philosophy to the trenches on offense? If so, they would need to sign three more tackles to match the nine defensive ends they currently have on the roster. Creating an offense that will be able to cycle through several guards and tackles in order to “keep them fresh” would be a daunting task for new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, and that may not even save them from giving up pressures and sacks. Beyond the idea of keeping players fresh, I believe the success of the Texans’ defensive line in 2024 had more to do with the exceptional performances of Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr., and Derek Barnett. These three players were incredibly valuable to the Texans defense last year, and, besides Tytus Howard, I don’t see players of comparable ability on Houston’s offensive line. If the Texans were to try an offensive line-by-committee approach to the 2025 season, I think they’ll still need more star power to make it all work. So, where is Houston going to find that?

Well, we’ll cover that in the third and final part of this series covering the offensive line! Stay tuned to battle red blog to see my musings on what Houston could do to further bolster the line in 2025. Spoiler: it’s going to involve more talk around remaining free agents and the upcoming NFL Draft! Although, what do you think of the roster Nick Caserio has cobbled together so far? Is this offensive line already good enough to get C.J. Stroud through a full season, or are they still a liability? Let us know down in the comments below!

GO TEXANS!!