The Houston Texans have cut left tackle Matt Kalil, who coach Bill O’Brien said was going to be the Week 1 starter for the club at the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 9.
That all seems to have changed after the club traded with the Miami Dolphins for offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. The former 2016 first-round pick has missed a total of four games in his career compared to Kalil, who missed all of 2018 with a knee injury.
The move also helps the Texans save $5.25 million for the salary cap.
Cutting Kalil means the club already has immense faith that Tunsil can do the job of protecting quarterback Deshaun Watson. Even without Tunsil, Kalil may have been outplayed during preseason by Roderick Johnson, who saw first-team snaps at left tackle during Kalil’s absence.
The Texans signed Kalil in the offseason during the second wave of free agency on March 22. Kalil was a former 2012 first-round pick for the Minnesota Vikings and earned a Pro Bowl his rookie season. However, injuries seem to have gotten the better of him. In 2016, a hip injury cost him 14 games and ended his tenure with the Vikings. While he played all 16 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2017, a knee injury shortly before the 2018 season cost him another year.
