Browns acquire Tytus Howard from Houston

  The reconstruction of the Cleveland Browns' offensive line began today with a surprising trade with the Houston Texans (Sidebar: doesn't it seem like it's almost always the Texans or the Jacksonville Jaguars with whom the Browns trade?) to acquire Tytus Howard for a fifth-round draft pick in the upcoming draft.

Cleveland traded the fifth-rounder that they acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders for quarterback Kenny Pickett, which is the highest of the three fifth-rounders Cleveland owned before trading for Howard.

Here's the good and bad news on Tytus Howard.

The good news is that, from the Texans writers, Howard was the team's best offensive lineman last season, and Houston did make the playoffs, so he can't be awful.

The bad news is that, depending on the source, the Texans' offensive line was ranked between 24th and 27th, and they were especially poor as run blockers.

Howard had one year remaining on his contract (seventeen and a half million) but immediately signed a two-year extension with the offensive line- starved Browns, so the twenty-nine-year-old Howard is now under team control through the 2028 season.

Howard spent his entire career with Houston after the Texans drafted him in the first round of the 2019 draft (23rd overall) from Division 1-AA Alabama State. He has been durable, playing in 14 or more games in six of his last seven seasons, and is versatile enough to play either guard or right tackle.

Howard spent most of the 2025 season at left guard for Houston, but the early press on the trade mentions Howard as a right tackle, so it could be Howard's job to protect the flank of whoever is the Cleveland quarterback.

The Browns are forced to attempt to plug the offensive line holes (they literally could lose all five starters, unless you count Dawand Jones as a starter, who was injured early in the season) through free agency, trades, and the draft, and All-Pro linemen generally aren't available through the first two avenues.

This means usually teams in this predicament will be paying over value for average players, and I think that's what the Browns have done here.

They are bringing in an average tackle for the first pick in the fifth round and overpaying him a little, but I can't say I hate the move.

I could see the Browns getting through 2026 with Howard at tackle and then moving him inside to guard for the final two years of his contract, where he is better suited.