This was not the news that the Houston Texans wanted to hear this week; Tytus Howard left practice on Tuesday on a cart. Possibly signifying some time off for the former first-round draft pick. Howard, 28, has had a history of injuries that have kept him off the field of play.
As a rookie in 2019, he played in only eight of 16 games. In 2020 he missed two of a possible 16 games, while in 2021 he missed two of 17 possible games. In 2022 he finally played his first full season, 17 out of 17 games. Yet, come 2023, and Howard was once again hindered by the injury bug, this time missing 10 of 17 games.
Making the injuries even worse, has been the fact that Howard has only had one truly good year to his name. In 2022 he posted a PFF score of 67.9. Not off-the-charts good, but it's good enough. Prior to that he posted 51.4 in 2021, 62.1 in 2020 and 59.4 in 2020. Not great, but not terrible. Terrible would come in 2023, when he posted the lowest score of his career, 46.8.
This brings us to 2024, where the Texans are hoping their mega-contract offensive linemen can make it back this season. The severity of the injury is unknown and some outlets said he looked "fine" while on the cart but you don't take the cart because you're feeling fine. You take it when the medical staff believes you are truly injured.
Still, losing Howard wouldn't have been that bad had the Texans not given the often hurt and perpetually under-achieving lineman a massive $53 million extension over three seasons. If this injury is serious, and Howard is out for a significant period, the team is going to be hurting to find a replacement this late in the game. They already brought in former Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs player Cameron Erving to see if he can add some depth to the roster.
At 31 years old, however, and being largely a journeyman backup at this point, he's far from the savior the team needs going forward.
Losing Howard may not be the worst thing in the world. He looked awful in his brief outing during the 2023 campaign. While that may be a sign of things to come with him, the fact remains that the franchise had hoped for him to be, not only healthy but better than he had been in prior years. If he's unable to play, then the Texans have to look at not only a short-term replacement but new long-term plans for his spot.