Texans’ priority must be to extend RT Tytus Howard

It’s been an expensive offseason for the Houston Texans.

General manager Nick Caserio wasn’t afraid to spend as left tackle Laremy Tunsil signed a record breaking three-year, $75 million extension. Right guard Shaq Mason signed a three-year, $35 million extension, and defensive tackle Maliek Collins signed a two-year, $23 million extension. Bringing in outside talent, nearly $50M were spent on free agent acquisitions such as Robert Woods, Dalton Schultz, Jimmie Ward, and Sheldon Rankins.

The extensions have created a vision of continuity for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and overall an environment that could welcome success for first year head coach DeMeco Ryans.

Houston now faces one final financial question: should they extend Tytus Howard?

If so when and how much could be too much?

The former 2019 first-round pick is coming off a full season starting at right tackle and entering the final season of his five-year rookie contract. The 2022 campaign was arguably his best to date and he showed marked improvement moving to tackle from the Tim Kelly-guard experiment in 2021. He allowed only three sacks and five quarterback hits according to Pro Football Focus and ranked 41st overall amongst all tackles. On film, he shown as a standout tackle opposite of Tunsil that could more than do his part to keep the quarterback clean.

The tackle market has never been more valued in the NFL and that’s reflected in the most recent free agency period. Teams around the league signed near peers to Howard such as Jawaan Taylor and Mike McGlinchey to deals worth close or equal to $20 million in APY. It’s safe to assume Howard could command top-5 money at his position if he was able to hit the market as a free agent just one year from now. Free agency could also allow Howard to potentially be bid as a left tackle rather than a right tackle by a team wanting to play him at the more premier position of the two. Any contract to play on the left side could easily creep over that $20 million mark set by Taylor and into uncomfortable financial territory for Houston.

In conjunction, this may create a compelling argument for Caserio to re-sign Howard sooner rather than later. The Alabama State legend has already proven himself to be the caliber of tackle that gets paid on the market and another strong year could spell disaster for the number he could command.

The aspect of time, and the market, create a favorable picture where there’s no need to rush a deal from Howard’s end. On the opposite side, there are team-building components to the equation for the Texans that could make it a priority to sign sooner rather than later.

A simple reason would be that it may be cheaper in 2023 to have Howard on an extension rather than his 5th year option. Howard is currently a $13.9M cap hit and Houston could convert money to signing bonus and potentially lower his cap hit for another free agent addition if they were so interested. That money could be used to add another starting piece to Ryans’ defense or simply allow for more operating room during the season.

To this point, a large part of the discussion has been financial when broaching a Howard extension. There are football considerations too. Mainly, where could Houston find a high caliber tackle to replace him? It was their inability to find talent at the position that ultimately led to the much-lamented Tunsil trade at the end of the 2019 preseason.

The previously mentioned 2022 free agent class were all Day 1 or Day 2 picks during the NFL draft. Every year multiple starting tackles are selected during the first round as teams continue to put an emphasis on protecting their quarterback, there were six selected in 2022 and five in 2023 alone. Is Houston prepared to use Cleveland’s first or their own second round selection in 2023 on the position? Would it be worth compromising their ability to attack receiver or defensive line during the draft? There’s a strong argument the salary cap dollars saved would not ultimately be allocated to a player or position as impactful as Howard.

An extension would solidify Stroud’s protection on both sides and go a long way towards creating continuity in a group Caserio has heavily invested in. Beyond the previously mentioned Tunsil and Mason extensions, projected starting left tackle Kenyon Green was a first-round pick in 2022 and projected starting center Juice Scruggs was a second-round pick in 2023. Stroud would certainly benefit from both strength and continuity from the five lineman that will be tasked to protect him from the vast array of pass rushers he’ll face in the league.

Houston would have one of the most expensive offensive lines in the NFL if they went this route. They’re already spending over 30% of their salary cap, $62.9M, on the offensive line and that number would likely be higher in subsequent seasons. It’s a frightening proposition but one that becomes far more palatable in the context of their situation. They’re set to play at least the next three seasons with Stroud on a rookie contract which allows for major financial flexibility. Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik want to emphasize the run game in a way that makes a stout offensive line nearly mandatory as they saw employed in San Francisco.

There are currently only seven right tackles that are paid over $17 million APY in the NFL. It’s almost a certainty that Houston would need to step into this territory to secure a deal and there’s little stopping them from doing so with over $100 million dollars in cap space for 2024 at this time according to Over the Cap.

Houston is too talent deprived to let a player of Howard walk, much less waive goodbye to a player that was a true soldier through a very difficult rebuild. This was a team that won only three games during the 2022 campaign and Howard was one of the few players recognized as high-caliber during that tumultuous time. The locker room, football, and financial aspects point to a re-signing that makes sense for the team.

A deal at $18M per year would put Howard in the top-5 highest paid players at his position and could be structured to end in three years as the team faces a deadline to extend Stroud. That length of contract would likely be desirable to Howard as well as he could the market again before going over the age of 30 for another huge potential pay day.

It’s unclear what number Caserio and the Texans would be comfortable at for Howard to sign him long term. It’s even less clear what number could be enticing for Howard to avoid entering a lucrative free agent period next offseason. The only sure thing is that there’s a mutual need between both sides, whether that’s Howard’s well-deserved extension or Houston wanting to protect their rookie quarterback.

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Story originally appeared on Texans Wire