This hasn’t been a good week for the Texans’ offensive line. Left tackle Duane Brown is still recovering from a torn quad he is not expected to be ready for the start of the season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Houston is being cautious with the starting lineman, who may remain on the PUP list as he heals up. 
On Thursday morning, we learned that center Nick Martin will likely be shut down for the season. The rookie’s absence is a big blow to the Texans, but losing Brown for a significant amount of time would be arguably worse. Brown, the team’s first-round pick in 2008, has started in all 120 of his appearances with the Texans. That streak is still alive today because the 31-year-old suffered the injury in Week 17 of last season.
The Texans re-signed swing tackle Chris Clark to a two-year deal this offseason and they also have Oday Aboushi in reserve to help out at tackle. Still, the Texans may look at the free agent market in the next couple of weeks as rival teams trim their rosters.
Last year, Brown graded out as the 16th best tackle in the NFL out of 77 qualified players. Brown earned a strong 86.0 grade for his pass blocking with a less impressive 70.4 score for run blocking.
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