Roderick Johnson has ‘earned’ reps with Houston Texans’ first team

Offensive tackle Roderick Johnson has thrown his hat in the ring with the first team after a good offseason with the Houston Texans.

With the uncertainty at the left tackle position, Roderick Johnson has emerged as a candidate to be the blindside protector for Houston Texans quarterback, Deshaun Watson. Patrick Starr of the State of the Texans posted a clip on head coach Bill O’Brien’s approval of Johnson’s performance after he stepped in with the first team as Matt Kalil had a rest day from practice.

Johnson could be poised to make the final roster after being one of the players in question after the Texans selecting Tytus Howard and Max Scharping in the first two rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft. With Howard and Scharping seeing the majority of the reps at guard in their first season in the league, it has opened the opportunity for Johnson to compete with Julien Davenport and Kalil for possible playing time at left tackle.

Selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft from Florida State, he was waived after his rookie season and was claimed off waivers by the Texans in the 2018 offseason. Johnson showed enough promise through training camp to earn a spot on the practice squad.

He was promoted twice to the active roster throughout the 2018 season and finished with one appearance when the Texans season ended. Johnson will have the next three preseason games to convince the coaches that not only does he warrant a roster spot on the final roster, but a shot to be in the mix to be a starter on the offensive line.

Far from being a polished player coming out of college, Johnson has the athletic tools that are required to be a left tackle. Being relatively healthy to this point could also play a role as the Texans have been managing Kalil as he has struggled to stay healthy in the past few seasons on other NFL teams.