The Houston Texans Take a Much-Improved Offensive Line Into the Playoffs
The weakest link in 2024 drastically improved in 2025
The Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud walked off the field in Kansas City at the end of their 2024 season. Well, it’s a minor miracle Stroud walked off the field. He had just been sacked a career-high eight times by the Chiefs. The offensive line, which had been one of the worst in the league, failed again.
Houston’s ensuing season, and the job of the general manager, was going to be defined by the reconstruction of the offense, especially the blocking.
The Texans were one of the worst offensive lines in the league. General manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans had no easy task ahead of them.
Somehow, as the Texans start their playoff journey after the 2025 regular season, they succeeded.
Tearing It Down
The Texans couldn’t stay the course. Changes had to be made. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and offensive line coach Chris Strausser were shown the door. Slowik’s replacement was Nick Caley, a former Patriots coach who had been with the Los Angeles Rams. Strausser’s replacement came from one seat over in the offensive line room. Cole Popovich was promoted from assistant offensive line coach to Strausser’s former post.
Popovich’s promotion was curious, but the long-time line coach hinted his tongue had some bite marks during last season. It was going to be a different approach from the timid Strausser. Popovich had experience with the offense the team was installing. He was a former offensive lineman.
He talked like it, too.
“He yells, he cusses, he does everything that you think an offensive line coach should do,” Stroud said about Popovich. “Those guys, they’re, ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘No, sir.’ They also don’t back down when a challenge is presented.”
It wasn’t just the coaches who needed to be changed. Multiple players needed to go.
The team released starting right guard Shaq Mason in early March. Mason was acquired ahead of the 2023 season and signed a big contract extension before he played a snap for Houston. He was fine in 2023, but 2024 was a terrible year. Mason looked slow, out of shape, and often lost on the field. The Texans ate the dead cap and moved on.
One of Caserio’s most significant misses as a general manager was the next to go. Kenyon Green had done little to prove he belonged as a starter in the league. Injuries plagued the start to his career, but the results weren’t good when he was healthy. He was shipped off to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The most significant change occurred days after Green’s exit.
The Texans traded Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The oft-penalized, but excellent blocker, was traded for numerous picks. It saved the Texans a few bucks, but Tunsil was far and away the best individual lineman. Despite being a captain, Tunsil never seemed worried about anything more than his work. He seemed to do little to hold others accountable. He frequently blamed his mistakes on others, citing the referees or the centers as the cause of his mistakes. Tunsil was an individual who played well, but not well with others. It was mentioned many times in 2025 that the line needed to play together.
Houston was tearing it down to nearly the studs. The rebuild was on.
Caserio, sometimes defiantly, downplayed his failures to build a capable line. Most of his additions, be it draft, free agency, or trade, had been far from what was needed.
The approach to overhauling an expensive and heavily invested-in front was interesting.
