unlikely but is it possible the texans are after jawaan taylor? kinda seems unnecessary to do this without a move in mind

This team gives me whiplash. I've spent the last 5 years thinking this team overrates Howard and now I'm shocked they let him go for basically nothing.

I think it was likely a situation where Tytus was going to ask for more than he's worth to the Texans. Texans have to focus on retaining their core.

Also may be that they prefer Trent Brown going forward.

This is a great move and gives me hope that have something else in the works, I certainly could be wrong, but there might be another deal they are working onz

MelvinUdall said:

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This is a great move and gives me hope that have something else in the works, I certainly could be wrong, but there might be another deal they are working onz

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i was sort of hoping it was something like that, but looking at the free agent list, i just don't see a whole lot of options where there's a huge step up from tytus. earlier i mentioned the chiefs right tackle being a cap casualty but he really had a rough season and tytus seemed to finally look competent at guard and tackle. so while i could see trying something like that, i don't think it's gonna make the team better. lindenbaum is the one guy that i think improves the situation enough that he'd be worth getting exciting over and i haven't heard him linked to the team in rumors whatsoever so that would be a shock. and even with him there's the inevitable question of whether it's worth improving at center if it means creating a new hole at a more premium position on the line, along with sacrificing the options a guy like tytus allows for personnel wise.

also, i think we all know the line struggled in all phases but at least in pass coverage, tytus was above average. as much as id love to be able to run the ball, this team has to put together a line that can protect cj if for no other reason than to determine beyond a shadow of a doubt whether he's the answer. it kinda seems like at at
least this early in the offseason that there's not a great chance whoever the replacement is ends up being an improvement in protection for 2026. if i had to bet i'd say we're looking at a step down barring a rookie outperforming expectations in a big way. i'm stating to think this was just saving money and there's no major target in the works (that's not to say they don't have a plan, i just wouldn't expect too much). tytus howard was not the problem on the o line, at least not in the passing game

Just sent a 5th to Detroit for David Montgomery.

Update on terms: It's the #Texans fourth rounder, OL Juice Scruggs, and a 7th rounder for David Montgomery, per sources.

So, fifth-round value. But a complex deal. https://t.co/jG9nKIFmrL

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 2, 2026

it's been a while since i listened to any AM sports radio but i'd like to believe every show gets at least one phone call today suggesting that this deal is just a precursor to grease the wheels for the stroud for myles trade that's coming. something like we had to give the browns a win after the watson fleecing before giving the fans another reason to bust out the pitch fork. if i know houston sports radio callers, the next step would be sign vince young out of retirement to play qb and we have our super bowl roster completed

Burrow - Stroud Trade?

Diggity said:

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Tytus for a 5th round pick is ridiculous. Don't care how we spin it on here.

That's not enough value for an above average starting tackle.

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That was trade on cost of player who is an average OT.

MelvinUdall said:

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This is a great move and gives me hope that have something else in the works, I certainly could be wrong, but there might be another deal they are working on.

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I hope this is true.

I wasn't a big fan of Tytus Howard. Thought he was competent but overpaid.

However, we're now going into the season having to find four out of your five starters on the line. Wow, they are potentially painting themselves into a corner and now they basically have to go big in both free agency and draft. I hope they have something big lined up because of it's more from the Cam Robinson/Laken Tomlinson/Ed Ingram clearance rack, we're in trouble.

so they gave up more than tytus howard at the end of the day for david montgomery? i don't even think a straight up swap would be worth it but damn this is disappointing

Diggity said:

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Tytus for a 5th round pick is ridiculous. Don't care how we spin it on here.

That's not enough value for an above average starting tackle.

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Value is only what someone is willing to pay. It says a lot that the best we could get for a guy that had the second largest salary on our team was a 5th.

It was a bit head scratching for me, but I will point out that we dumped Tunsil and his contract (much to the doom and gloom of everyone fans/media) and the o-line actually got better. So it's not like this is a death sentence.

dixie whiskey said:

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so they gave up more than tytus howard at the end of the day for david montgomery? i don't even think a straight up swap would be worth it but damn this is disappointing

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He makes $6 million per year and he is on the books for 2027 at $7 million…Tytus was making $20 million.

mAgnoliAg said:

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Seems like an overpay maybe just me

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I gotta believe it's a 4th rounder next year, that's the only way the 5th round value makes sense?

MelvinUdall said:

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dixie whiskey said:

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so they gave up more than tytus howard at the end of the day for david montgomery? i don't even think a straight up swap would be worth it but damn this is disappointing

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He makes $6 million per year and he is on the books for 2027 at $7 million…Tytus was making $20 million.

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i wasn't aware his deal was that friendly, that helps some. i assumed a guy like that would be making a little. that said, i'm not sure you can really look at salaries between running backs and offensive tackles and get an apples to apples value comparison. i guess we'll see how it plays out but as of this moment i don't think the team got better or put themselves in a better position

I like Montgomery and I think he is a good addition. That is RB1. However, this should not preclude them from adding another quality back, either through free agency or the draft.

guesses on the nickname that tries to stick for the Woody Marks and David Montgomery duo?



...and wtf is the plan for OL?

oh no said:

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guesses on the nickname that tries to stick for the Woody Marks and David Montgomery duo?



...and wtf is the plan for OL?

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one more thing on the rb situation, is there a particular reason that's been given as to why the texans are hell bent on getting a "power back" this offseason specifically? that's all i've heard and this trade gets them one, but with as bad as the line has been, i feel like good vision should be the priority, and a quick first step to hit the hole when it's there bc it may not be there long. it just doesn't seem like this team is crafted for a power running game at all. despite popular opinion, having a big back doesn't mean they're gonna just plow through everything. hell in the modern era it kinda seems like big backs need even better blocking unless they're named henry bc they're slower to the hole and aren't able to change direction as quickly as a smaller guy. so why hyper fixate on a bigger guy? maybe i'm nitpicking but it feels like this team in every era has some kind of weird body type obsession with various position groups and severely limits their options because of it. it's not that i have any problem with big backs but it seems very texan to eliminate 75% of the options right off the bat because they don't fit some archetype

IrishAg said:

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Diggity said:

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Tytus for a 5th round pick is ridiculous. Don't care how we spin it on here.

That's not enough value for an above average starting tackle.

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Value is only what someone is willing to pay. It says a lot that the best we could get for a guy that had the second largest salary on our team was a 5th.

It was a bit head scratching for me, but I will point out that we dumped Tunsil and his contract (much to the doom and gloom of everyone fans/media) and the o-line actually got better. So it's not like this is a death sentence.

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mainly says that most of our talented players are still on their first contracts, and we don't spend enough on the OL.

My counter would be that if you don't think you're getting value on a trade, don't make the trade.

Diggity said:

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IrishAg said:

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Diggity said:

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Tytus for a 5th round pick is ridiculous. Don't care how we spin it on here.

That's not enough value for an above average starting tackle.

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Value is only what someone is willing to pay. It says a lot that the best we could get for a guy that had the second largest salary on our team was a 5th.

It was a bit head scratching for me, but I will point out that we dumped Tunsil and his contract (much to the doom and gloom of everyone fans/media) and the o-line actually got better. So it's not like this is a death sentence.

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mainly says that most of our talented players are still on their first contracts, and we don't spend enough on the OL

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this, and while yes we're complaining, i don't think anybody thinks the sky is falling. it's just incredibly frustrating that o line has been the biggest weakness of the team 2 offseasons in a row and 2 in a row we've seen it addressed by getting rid of the most productive player on the line. and unlike with tunsil, howard probably could have been restructured to work the cap hit if he was kept, he's a plus player at both tackle and guard, and he seemed to be a pretty well liked guy in the locker room. it just sort of feels like to solve the o line that that's exactly the type of player you want to add, not subtract. now they need to find 3 starters i guess, and that assumes ingram is one of the guards again. it just seems like they went and made what would be a challenging offseason unnecessarily more challenging when they didn't really need to, all for a borderline starting running back.


eta it's a deep rb draft supposedly too, not the top end of the class but it seems like there's a nice group of mid round guys. imo having howard and a 4th (vs a 5th) round pick to spend on a back is just a better place to be for this team.

Agreed. This is a great pick-up. I'm more surprised Dan let him go. I know they have Gibbs, but you really need two solid ones these days it seems.

dixie whiskey said:

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one more thing on the rb situation, is there a particular reason that's been given as to why the texans are hell bent on getting a "power back" this offseason specifically? that's all i've heard and this trade gets them one, but with as bad as the line has been, i feel like good vision should be the priority, and a quick first step to hit the hole when it's there bc it may not be there long. it just doesn't seem like this team is crafted for a power running game at all. despite popular opinion, having a big back doesn't mean they're gonna just plow through everything. hell in the modern era it kinda seems like big backs need even better blocking unless they're named henry bc they're slower to the hole and aren't able to change direction as quickly as a smaller guy. so why hyper fixate on a bigger guy? maybe i'm nitpicking but it feels like this team in every era has some kind of weird body type obsession with various position groups and severely limits their options because of it. it's not that i have any problem with big backs but it seems very texan to eliminate 75% of the options right off the bat because they don't fit some archetype

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If you want to be a power running team (which apparently they do), then you have to have one back who tends to fall forward. Doesn't necessarily have to be a big guy, just someone who can take a hit and not crumble.