Former first round pick, right tackle Tytus Howard, agreed to a three-year extension with the team, as first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com:
For his part, Howard spent the offseason expressing great jubilation over many of the decisions the team was making over the last several months, including the hiring of DeMeco Ryans as the head coach and the extension of fellow tackle Laremy Tunsil on a three-year deal of his own. Bottom line, Howard expressed a great desire to remain a Houston Texan, and now it's happening.Another big-money OT deal in Houston: Former Texans 1st-round pick Tytus Howard and Houston reached agreement on a 3-year, $56 million extension that includes $36.5M gtd, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 26, 2023
Texans’ GM Nick Caserio negotiated the deal with Malki Kawa and Ethan Lock of @FirstRoundMgmt. pic.twitter.com/Ty1kyiKs8l
At $18 million per year, the Texans lock up Howard at the going rate for an above average (but not quite Pro Bowl level) offensive tackle. As a comparison, the Broncos signed former 49er tackle Mike McGlinchey to a five year, $87 million deal in free agency this past spring. Considering the churn Howard has experienced — multiple position changes and four offensive lune coaches in five seasons — he has to feel fortunate and proud that he was able to secure this deal.
Here are a few other thoughts on this positive development for the Texans:
The investment in the offensive line is heavy, and it makes sense.
The Texans have now extended three veteran offensive linemen this season — Tunsil, Howard and right guard Shaq Mason. Each of the extensions was three years long, and the total annual value of the three deals is roughly $56 million. That's a lot of money for one position group, but when you consider the importance of rookie QB C.J. Stroud, having those vets, along with young linemen, guard Kenyon Green and center Juice Scruggs, it's incredibly beneficial for Stroud to have the continuity of the same five offensive linemen for at least the next three seasons, assuming all five stay healthy and perform well.
The Texans history in the first round of the draft continues.
It's been a while since we revisited the Texans' success in drafting guys in the first round, largely because for a four season stretch, Howard was their only first round pick. In 2018, 2020, and 2021, the team didn't pick until the 68th overall, 40th overall, and 67th overall selection, respectively. The Texans have done a nice job of finding good players in the first round since 2008, with the only real "bust" being Kevin Johnson (2015). Sure, Will Fuller, Deshaun Watson, and a couple others (for various reasons) had complicated endings to their time here, but all were good NFL players. Howard is a good NFL football player. Somewhere, Brian Gaine, the GM who selected Howard in 2019, is smiling.
Are there anymore extensions coming?
I would imagine that this is it for significant contract extensions this offseason, mostly because the Texans don't really have that many good players worth extending, particularly players entering a contract year. Cornerback Steven Nelson seemed to be agitating for some sort of contractual concession on social media by ridiculing GM Nick Caserio's wardrobe back in the spring, but nothing has come of that. Caserio even joked about it in his training camp press conference on Wednesday. Any other players the Texans hope to lock up long term are probably young guys who aren't eligible for second contracts yet. So Howard's deal is probably the final checklist item for Caserio.
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