The Houston Texans' efforts to rebuild their offensive line was one of the key offseason storylines for a team that had plans of competing for their third consecutive AFC South title. Their plan, and the execution of such plan, has been the subject of conversation for months, though, and through four weeks of the 2025 season, there are still unanswered questions regarding how competent this five-man group can be.
As a result, we've arrived in early October, and the Texans are still making moves around the margins that could shape what their offensive line looks like as we progress further into this crucial season. One of those moves involves former Pro Bowl tackle Trent Brown, who had been on the Texans practice squad since cut-down day.
"Texans are signing veteran offensive tackle Trent Brown from their practice squad to their active roster, per his agent Drew Rosenhaus," ESPN insider Adam Schefter tweeted on October 3.
Trent Brown, a 6-foot-8, 380 lb. monster of a man, made his only Pro Bowl appearance in 2019 as a member of the then-Oakland Raiders, so it's not as if the Texans are getting Brown in what would've been the prime of his career. Brown is 32 years old and has been limited to just 45 of a possible 85 games over the last five seasons due to numerous injuries, including a season-ending torn patellar tendon last year with the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is all to say, there's a reason why Trent Brown was relegated to the practice squad to begin the season, even as the Texans were introducing four new starters along the offensive line to start the season.
However, if there's any reason for optimism that Brown, who isn't expected to immediately walk into a starting role, could make a meaningful impact for the Texans this year, it's this... just two seasons ago -- a year in which Trent Brown played in 11 games for the New England Patriots -- the veteran tackle finished with an 82.7 grade on Pro Football Focus, the 13th-highest mark among qualified players during the 2023 season.
Those days are likely long behind Trent Brown. It's fair to say that his best chance of making an impact may be in mentoring rookie tackle Aireontae Ersery -- who like Brown, had eyes on a potential basketball career before shifting his focus to football -- or providing a depth role if either Ersery or right tackle Tytus Howard ends up going down with an injury. With the recent trade of Cam Robinson to the Cleveland Browns, there was a void in that position group for the Texans.
Trent Brown is plenty big enough to fill it.