The Cleveland Browns find a new starting OT in trade with the Houston Texans

The Cleveland Browns have officially traded a 2026 5th-round draft pick for Houston Texans OT Tytus Howard.

Howard, a 93-game starter for the Texans as right tackle since 2019, was a 1st-round draft pick out of Alabama State.

He’s developed into a very good pass blocker over the past few seasons, posting a PFF pass-blocking grade of 77.1 in 2025, good for 17th out of 89 qualified offensive tackles. Though he’s never been known as an above-average run blocker at the NFL level, he’s always been satisfactory enough to warrant grades near the middle of the pack every season.

Many could be wondering why Houston would make this trade, sending their best offensive lineman away when they’re already hurting in the trenches as well. The simple answer revolves around cap space. Howard was on the final year of his deal, and the Texans didn’t want to pay him the 3-year, $63M contract that Cleveland just agreed to in order to make the trade work.

On the surface, this is an excellent deal for the Browns, being able to acquire an above-average starting tackle for only a 5th-round draft pick. The contract isn’t bad either, compared to most other players around his quality.

Andrew Berry and Co. have officially found one of their starting offensive tackles for 2026 and beyond, and it’s pretty safe to assume that they’re planning on finding the other in the 2026 NFL Draft.