Browns News: Tytus Howard Added Through Trade with Texans
The Cleveland Browns are wasting no time addressing the most glaring weakness on their roster. The Browns have agreed to acquire versatile offensive lineman Tytus Howard from the Houston Texans in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Monday. As part of the deal, Cleveland has signed Howard to a new three-year, $63 million contract extension, locking him up through the 2029 season.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Howard told KPRC-2 TV in Houston after the news broke. “They’re trying to get younger and pay some guys. I ain’t mad. I kind of knew it was going to happen. I just appreciate the support over the last seven years. I’ll always be a Texan forever. I’m excited to go to Cleveland and turn the city up and help change the program and win some games.”
Filling a Massive Need
The Browns entered this offseason facing an almost unprecedented offensive line crisis. Their entire starting five is either hitting free agency, dealing with injury uncertainty, or weighing retirement. Joel Bitonio is heavily considering hanging up his cleats after 12 seasons. Wyatt Teller ended 2025 on injured reserve with a calf injury. Cam Robinson, Ethan Pocic, and Jack Conklin are all set to become unrestricted free agents when the new league year opens on March 11. According to CBS Sports Research, no NFL team since 1970 has lost all five starting offensive linemen in the same offseason; the Browns may be on the verge of becoming the first.
Howard immediately changes that calculus. The former first-round pick, selected 23rd overall by Houston out of Alabama State in the 2019 NFL Draft, has started 93 games over seven seasons and is one of the most positionally versatile offensive linemen in the league. He has lined up at right tackle, left tackle, right guard, and left guard across his career, and in 2025, he served primarily as Houston’s starting left guard while also logging snaps at tackle. According to Next Gen Stats, he allowed pressure on just 3.4 percent of his snaps last season, a career best.
At 29, Howard turns 30 this May, but his 2025 performance suggests he has plenty left. CBS Sports noted that, per PFF tracking, he did not allow a single sack this year, and his versatility gives new head coach Todd Monken and general manager Andrew Berry the flexibility to deploy him wherever the line needs the most help. The $21 million average annual value of his new extension reflects what the market currently demands for a proven, multi-position starter.
A Running Game That Desperately Needs a Spark
Beyond pass protection, Howard’s arrival carries real significance for Cleveland’s ground game, an area that ranked 24th in run-block win rate in 2025 and showed little consistency all season. Howard has never been regarded as an elite run blocker at the tackle position, but his versatility changes the equation considerably. When he slides inside to guard, which is where he spent much of 2025 in Houston, he becomes a far more effective presence in the run game. Interior linemen who can generate movement at the point of attack and reach block in space are precisely what modern zone-running schemes demand, and Monken’s offense is built around exactly that kind of horizontal, space-creating run game.
Cleveland’s backfield is one of the few bright spots on the roster. Jerome Ford and D’Onta Foreman gave the Browns a functional ground attack even when the rest of the offense struggled, but they were routinely let down by a line that couldn’t create consistent movement. Howard, playing alongside a healthy Dawand Jones and whichever interior linemen the Browns add in free agency and the draft, gives the run game a credible foundation for the first time in years. For a team likely starting a young quarterback in 2026, establishing the run early and often isn’t just a stylistic preference; it’s a necessity.
Quinshon Judkins
Fantasy Impact 2026
The Browns’ running game should get a small bump as this addition helps fortify the offensive line and adds depth. Judkins is an interesting fantasy target in leagues this season. He proved he has value and should be the go-to starter in this offense after rushing for 827 yards and 7 touchdowns on 230 carries last season.
What It Means for Cleveland’s Rebuild
The Browns allowed 51 sacks in 2025, ranking eighth-worst in the NFL, and the quarterback situation in Cleveland remains unsettled heading into 2026. New head coach Monken, hired after the dismissal of Kevin Stefanski, takes over a team that has Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel on the roster, with no clear Week 1 starter named. Whoever ends up taking snaps behind center in Cleveland will do so with significantly better protection than they had a year ago.
Dawand Jones, a 24-year-old tackle who is the only holdover offensive line starter under contract entering the offseason, figures to start on the left side if he can stay healthy. He has missed significant time in each of his first three seasons. Howard anchoring the right side, whether at tackle or kicking inside to guard as needed, gives the Browns a reliable foundation to build around.
The Howard acquisition is widely expected to be just the first move in a sweeping offensive line overhaul that will continue through free agency and the draft. The Browns hold the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and are expected to remain active in adding more protection up front.