Despite it being their most glaring weakness heading into the offseason, there is still some uncertainty with the Texans' offensive line.
Houston replaced Laremy Tunsil with Cam Robinson as its starting left tackle, which seems like a downgrade. The future at the position is Aireontae Ersery, who the Texans selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
However, it appears that they will take things slowly with Ersery and start him off as the swing tackle. To add some upside to its offensive tackle group, A to Z Sports' Wendell Ferreira named Houston as a potential landing spot for free agent LT David Bakhtiari.
From Wendell Ferreira: "The Texans went in free agency and signed Cam Robinson after trading Laremy Tunsil. While it's important to have a viable starting left tackle after the team had so many issues last year, Robinson is also a limited player — and the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line significantly regressed when they had to trade for him after Christian Darrisaw got hurt. Bakhtiari would be a major upgrade in terms of ceiling, and Robinson could move to right tackle if needed. The big problem is that Bakhtiari doesn't like to play on turf."
Bakhtiari has been named an All-Pro five times and a Pro Bowler three times throughout his 11-year career with the Packers. He seemed to be on a Hall of Fame trajectory, but injuries have derailed him, most notably a torn ACL that he suffered late during the 2020 season.
Green Bay released Bakhtiari in March of 2024. It's certainly possible that he never gets back to form, but he would be a low-risk, potential high-reward option for the Texans. With their championship window currently very open, Houston should be looking to make signings such as this one to help get over the hump. If nothing else, adding Bakhtiari could provide quality depth and give Ersery a great mentor.
Analyst's One-Word Reaction to Houston Texans' Offseason
The Houston Texans put together a variety of changes to their roster throughout the past few months of the NFL offseason.
But now that the dust has settled surrounding the bulk of the NFL's offseason movement, how could the Texans' decisions be summed up among the rest of the league?
In the eyes of some, it might not have been an extremely positive or productive past few months in Houston.
When breaking down the Texans' offseason, FOX Sports' Ben Arthur bluntly described Houston's roster movement with one word: underwhelming.
"After C.J. Stroud was the second-most sacked quarterback in 2024, the Texans entered the offseason in dire need of retooling their offensive line," Arthur wrote. "But their moves to address the group, including trading away perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, feel disappointing."
The Texans certainly had an interesting approach to their offseason goals, one that was headlined by the aforementioned move to ship out a Pro Bowler in Laremy Tunsil, but to say Houston's offseason was underwhelming may be a bit harsh, all things considered.
Houston certainly made multiple interesting shakeups to their offensive line unit along with their trade to send out Tunsil, but moves that could inevitably lead to steps in the right direction after the unit was in complete disarray in 2024. C.J. Stroud also has a brand new outlook in the wide receiver room to surround Nico Collins with both young and veteran pieces.
It might not have been an offseason with a splash trade or signing to bring in a new superstar, but they did retain two of their own on new contracts with extensions for Derek Stingley Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Two decisions going a bit under-the-radar, but should lead to a longer sense of sustainable success on this Houston roster.
So, while the offseason might not have been too "splashy," to call it a disappointing one may be a stretch. However, time will tell if the Texans have made the right strides needed over the past few months to earn their third-straight AFC South victory.
