Multiple Starting Jobs Up For Grabs On Texans OL

With Laremy Tunsil, Shaq Mason, and Kenyon Green all missing from the roster in 2025, the Texans had an interesting challenge in filling out their offensive line this offseason. There are lots of new faces, only one returning full-time starter, and according to Mike Jones of The Athletic, almost every starting job appears to be up for grabs.

The lone returning full-time starter is Tytus Howard. While he’s likely certain to be destined for a starting job, Houston has been working Howard at both right guard and right tackle in the offseason. This isn’t new to Howard, though. Since getting drafted in the first round in 2019, Howard has started 48 games at right tackle, 27 games at left guard, and four games at left tackle for the Texans.

Right guard would be a new position, but Howard has swapped sides and positions for the team frequently in the past. He likely won’t be going back to left guard, though, since free agent addition Laken Tomlinson seemingly has that job locked down.

When Howard’s working at right guard, rookie second-round tackle Aireontae Ersery and last year’s second-round tackle, Blake Fisher, have been splitting snaps at the position. Ersery has also been splitting snaps with veteran free agent addition Cam Robinson on the blind side.

Robinson has spent his entire NFL career as a left tackle, and it’s hard to imagine the team is paying him $12MM this year to sit on the bench. More likely, Robinson is expected to start at left tackle while Ersery is competing for the right tackle job and cross training at left tackle to either prepare for a role as a swing tackle or prepare to start there in case Robinson gets injured. Last year was only the second time in Robinson’s eight-year career that he played in every game of a single season.

The majority of Ersery’s experience at Minnesota was at left tackle; he started one game at right tackle in his COVID-shortened freshman year. Fisher was almost the opposite. His first ever start for the Fighting Irish came a left tackle before starting at right tackle for the rest of his collegiate career. This could give Fisher the edge over Ersery in that position battle, but so far, there doesn’t appear to be a clear leader.

Much like the last two seasons in Houston, the center position seems extremely undecided. In 2023, Michael Deiter and Jarrett Patterson split time at the position, while in 2024, it was Patterson and Juice Scruggs splitting time. Patterson and Scruggs are back to compete for the job in 2025, but the Texans claimed former Patriots center Jake Andrews off of waivers back in April, and he has tossed his hat into the ring, as well.

The good news is that whoever wins the starting job, the Texans should have plenty of depth. The loser of the tackle competitions will be a capable backup, the losers of the center battle will be available to fill in as backups on the interior, and if Howard shifts in across from Tomlinson at guard, trade acquisition Ed Ingram will be a backup with 41 starts under his belt. The bad news is that, if nobody is convincingly winning a starting job, the winner might not pan out as a starter.

In summation, Robinson and Tomlinson likely have the left side locked down. Ersery or Fisher could win the right tackle spot, pushing Howard inside to right guard, but if neither player proves capable of starting, Howard could bookend the line with Robinson with Ersery and Fisher as backups. If Howard isn’t starting at guard, Ingram and the losers of the center battle can compete at right guard, and of course, the winner of the center battle — whomever that may be — with be the center.

Another year, another new-look offensive line in Houston. After allowing the third-most sacks in the NFL last season, it makes sense that they’d want it to look significantly different, but now they have the rest of the summer to determine just what the line will look like in 2025.