The Houston Texans have remained far from complacent with their roster in the opening of this year's NFL offseason, effectively making a vast range of changes upon the offensive line, and adding a few pieces elsewhere on both ends of the field.
Yet, could the moves the Texans have made be more of a hindrance than a help? In the eyes of CBS Sports analyst Jordan Dajani, that may be the case –– as he dealt them a D grade in his latest batch of free agency report cards.
It's been a whirlwind of moves for Houston in the first few weeks, but as a result of their Laremy Tunsil trade and lack of splashes upfront to replace him, Dajani has big questions about the Texans' decisions.
"The Laremy Tunsil trade was arguably the most shocking move of free agency, but if Houston wanted to go in a different direction with one of the best left tackles in the game, there was obviously a reason why," Dajani wrote. "I don't know if that was contract-related or locker-room-related, but the Texans decided to sell as high as they could on this star. I think the biggest problem with this decision is that the offensive line was the most important area where the team wanted to upgrade this offseason. They lost their best player on the offensive front, and traded Kenyon Green to the Eagles. That move is a win for Houston, since CJGJ could fit in nicely under DeMeco Ryans, but are Cam Robinson and Ed Ingram upgrades over Tunsil and Green?"
Losing Tunsil in any fashion is bound to cause an uproar, even if the Texans had reasonable cause to do it internally, but without making the necessary adjustments in his place to mitigate the risk for this offense and C.J. Stroud, Houston could have some bumps in the road because of it.
The Texans brass hasn't sat on their hands to improve in the trenches, as names like Cam Robinson, Laken Tomlinson, Ed Ingram, and Trent Brown all emerge as worthwhile options to look toward on this new-and-improved unit. Still, following a year in which Houston's pass protection was among the worst in the NFL, it's fair to wonder whether enough was done to patch the holes from a season ago.
Houston's front office may not be done making their hopeful upgrades, though, as the potential for trades ahead remains along with an entire seven rounds of April's draft to tweak with the group they have in store for 2025. If noise can be made on either front, the narrative could shift around the Texans' offseason.
For now, the Texans are hearing the brunt of the criticism. Time will tell if they can flip the script.
