Breaking news: The Houston Texans have taken a tough decision on C.J. Stroud putting the future first.
The Houston Texans’ season-long problem was summed up in C.J. Stroud’s most recent playoff dropback: Another snap. One more bag.
Houston fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 23–14 in the divisional round, and it was his tenth sack of the day. According to Next Gen Stats, the Texans haven’t wasted any time trying to address the issue since that game. They have overhauled the coaching and personnel for a team that allowed Stroud to be fired 52 times, which is the second-most in the NFL, and pressed on 38.6% of his dropbacks, which is the second-most.
Shaq Mason, a right guard, was let go, while Kenyon Green and Laremy Tunsil, a Pro Bowl left tackle, were exchanged. Houston acquired veteran Minnesota Vikings right guard Ed Ingram in exchange for tackles Cam Robinson, Trent Brown, and Laken Tomlinson to replace the trio who made 41 starts in 2024.
During the league’s annual meetings last week, coach DeMeco Ryans stated, “The idea behind adding those guys was to just add some veteran guys who have played for a while and have done it the right way.” “Dude who have a hard game. [I] genuinely wanted to promote competitiveness in the room.”
Ryans also made coaching modifications to increase protection around Stroud. He dismissed Bobby Slowik as offensive coordinator and Chris Strausser as offensive line coach. He brought in former Los Angeles Rams tight end and pass game coordinator Nick Calley to replace Slowik, and he replaced Strausser with Cole Popovich, the Texans’ assistant offensive line coach.
By dealing Tunsil to the Washington Commanders for third- and seventh-round selections in the 2025 draft and second- and fourth-round picks in 2026, Houston began reorganizing its players through free agency. A fourth-round selection will also be given to the Commanders.
In exchange for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Texans also sent Green to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The reason for moving on from Mason and Green was their 2024 problems. According to Next Gen Stats, Green gave up the 14th-highest pressure rate (11.3%) and Mason gave up the sixth-most sacks (10.5) among offensive lineman with at least 300 pass-blocking snaps.
It was a little different while trading Tunsil. A mainstay on the offensive line, Tunsil finished 10th among all tackles in terms of pass block victory percentage (92.9%) during the previous year. Additionally, Next Gen Stats showed that he was third in sacks allowed (2.5) and fifth in pressure rate allowed (8.3%) among left tackles with at least 500 pass-blocking snaps.
Trading Tunsil was mostly done for financial reasons, with an eye toward the future. The five-time Pro Bowler was owed a total of $42 million over the next two seasons, but the Texans decided not to pay him for future assets. Last month, during his rookie deal, the Texans named Derek Stingley Jr. the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. will both be eligible in the upcoming summer. Danielle Hunter, a defensive end, signed a one-year, $35.6 million contract extension with Houston one week after Stingley’s signing, committing him to the team until the 2026 campaign.
