The Houston Texans experimented with another offensive line combination in the Week 12 loss to the New York Jets Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
Houston took Tytus Howard, who had started 10 games at left guard for the Texans in 2021, and kicked him outside to man left tackle. Filling in for Howard at left guard was Lane Taylor.
Coach David Culley was pleased with the left side of the offensive line amid the 21-14 loss to the Jets that drops Houston to 2-9 on the year.
“I thought they both played well together,” Culley told reporters Monday. “They did a nice job. I was very happy for Lane to finally get some extensive action. He was only out a couple of plays. We were concerned with his endurance and what not, but he did a nice job. They both played well.”
Howard’s experience going back to Alabama State was as a tackle. The Texans experimented with Howard at left guard in Week 2 of 2019 when coach Bill O’Brien was on the sidelines. Quickly Howard kicked out to right tackle and played in 21 games as the other bookend to an offensive line that featured Laremy Tunsil at left tackle.
Going forward, Culley was nebulous about where Howard would line up, but did not rule out the possibility the former 2019 first-round pick could stay at left tackle.
“Right now with the situation we are in, we are going to put him where we feel like he gives us the best chance depending on the matchup we have,” said Culley. “We know he can do both. We know he is very affective doing both and we’ll just kind of take it week to week to see where best fits until Laremy gets back to see what needs best fit him.”
Tunsil is out with a thumb injury and on injured reserve. Houston hosts the Indianapolis Colts Dec. 5 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.
