The Houston Texans released their Wednesday injury report, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil did not participate due to an illness.
The Houston Texans released their Wednesday injury report ahead of their Week 11 showdown with the New England Patriots Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium.
Left tackle Laremy Tunsil and running back Duke Johnson both were out of practice due to an illness. Punter Bryan Anger was held out of practice due to a right quad injury, while receiver Kenny Stills had a back injury that kept him out of practice. Safety Michael Thomas also missed practice due to a shoulder injury.
Houston has three players who were limited: guard Senio Kelemete (concussion), outside linebacker Jacob Martin (not injury related, though it is his first practice since coming off COVID reserve), and defensive end Charles Omenihu (hamstring).
The Houston Texans have shored up their pass blocking in the Deshaun Watson era and part of the key has been left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
The Houston Texans pass blocking has had a tremendous boost with the addition of left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
One of former coach and general manager Bill O’Brien’s moves to shore up the offensive line was to trade for Tunsil at the end of the 2019 preseason. Through the first eight weeks of the NFL season, Tunsil has not allowed a sack in 288 snaps, according to new data from Pro Football Focus.
Since 2018, quarterback Deshaun Watson’s 22 sacks through the first seven games ranks as the second-most in the three-year span. Though it is up one from 2019, the total is down four from 26 when Watson would finish the season with a league-high 62 sacks.
Most pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack (Tackles):
Coaching the former 2016 Miami Dolphins first-round pick has been a learning experience for Texans offensive line coach Mike Devlin.
“I personally have never coached anybody like Laremy,” Devlin said. “He’s almost an artist to what he does as far as pass protection and the way he works at it and studies himself and the opponent. I’ve learned a ton relative to the tackle play.
“I always ask this question: How do we get that type of skill set or that technique and all that to younger guys that maybe don’t have his ability? He’s like a power forward out there.”
Tunsil earned his first career Pro Bowl with Houston in 2019. As would-be power forward continues to protect Watson’s blindside, the Texans are hopeful he will continue to be the strongest part of their pass blocking unit.
We review the numbers on Ronnie Stanley’s new five-year contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens have inked Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley to a five-year extension on Friday. The deal keeps one of Baltimore’s best young players in town for the foreseeable future and gives them a foundation to build off of. However, the contract extension isn’t a cheap one, for either Stanley or the Ravens.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Stanley’s contract extension has a maximum value of $112.866 million when including this year’s salary, and a total of $98.75 million in new money over the five-year deal. More importantly, the deal will pay Stanley a total of $47.116 million before the start of next season when including his fifth-year option salary this year.
While Stanley’s deal doesn’t make him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL right now, it’s a deal that helps reset the market following Houston giving tackle Laremy Tunsil a record-breaking three-year extension. As predicted, Stanley is one of the richest men in the NFL.
The Houston Texans announced their first injury report for Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, and tight end Jordan Akins was a limited participant.
The Houston Texans announced their first injury report ahead of their Week 6 encounter with the Tennessee Titans Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at Nissan Stadium.
Tight end Jordan Akins, who was out last week with a concussion and ankle injury, was listed as limited on the injury report.
Joining Akins as limited participants in Wednesday’s practice were left tackle Laremy Tunsil (elbow), inside linebacker Dylan Cole (knee), inside linebacker Peter Kalambayi (hamstring), running back Buddy Howell (hamstring), and outside linebacker Jacob Martin (ankle).
Defensive end J.J. Watt and receiver Keke Coutee did not participate in Wednesday’s practice. The reasons both were not injury related, according to the team.
Bill O’Brien’s Houston Texans are winless, have traded away their best future assets, and are wasting one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks
It’s one thing for Bill Parcells to want to pick some of his groceries.
It’s another thing for Bill O’Brien to want his own Whole Foods.
When Parcells made his famous statement about team-building, he had already won multiple Super Bowl as a head coach. O’Brien, in his seventh season as the head coach of the Houston Texans, still hasn’t won a playoff game.
Now both head coach and general manager of the Texans, O’Brien’s personnel decisions have crippled the team’s future, and judging by their 0-4 start to the 2020 season, they haven’t helped their chances of success in the present.
The smartest decision the Texans have made with O’Brien calling the shots has been signing Deshaun Watson to a long-term extension, though it was quite the no-brainer. And while the Texans have now locked up one of the best quarterbacks in the league, they’ve left him without an adequate supporting cast, and without the draft resources to maximize Watson’s prime.
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
It’s not that Laremy Tunsil hasn’t been effective as the team’s starting left tackle, but he’s clearly not making a big enough impact to keep the Texans from going winless so far this season. Thanks to the trade that brought him to Houston, the Texans won’t pick in the 2021 NFL Draft until the third round.
Considering they’re currently in the running to land the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, that’s a hefty price to pay, on top of the massive extension Lunsil signed back in April.
O’Brien also traded away DeAndre Hopkins, widely regarded as the best wide receiver in the NFL, to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson and a 2nd-round pick this offseason. O’Brien then flipped one of his second-round picks to the Los Angeles Rams for wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Cooks is a solid receiver, but Watson already had a speedy target with durability questions in Will Fuller. Swapping out Hopkins, a big target with a massive catch radius, for an undersized deep threat didn’t make the Houston offense any better.
The danger in letting a head coach pick all of his own groceries is that he’ll sacrifice long-term stability for the quick fix and short-term success. Unfortunately for the Texans, O’Brien has left them without either.
Houston is bad now, have traded away their best draft resources with which they could have gotten better later, and in the process are wasting one of the most dynamic and talented players in the league, at the game’s most important position.
Watson deserves far better, and so do Texans fans.
The Houston Texans were almost dead last in the NFL in pass block win rate in Week 1. They will have to improve against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Houston Texans pass blocking was hardly top notch. In fact, it may not have been worthy enough to even record a notch.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson took four sacks as the Texans lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 34-20 in Week 1 at Arrowhead Stadium.
According to Seth Walder from ESPN, the Texans were the penultimate team when it came to worst pass block win rate, winning 37.9% of the time. Only the New York Giants were worse at 33.3%.
The results are enough to believe the offensive line needs a little more work together, even if they are the first line to return all five starters for the first time since 2011.
Better late than never, here are team pass block win rates from Week 1.
Obvious stunner is the Eagles. Haven't had a chance to watch the game back, but guessing the NGS note that 7 of 8 Wentz sacks came when he held ball for 4+ seconds had something to do with it. pic.twitter.com/xqsh2QHrqN
Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil isn’t going to blame the Texans’ pass blocking issues in Week 1 on the lack of preseason games.
“Not having a preseason game, I really don’t think it mattered as much because we had training camp, but that’s just my opinion,” Tunsil said. “We’ve just got to come out there and execute the game plan. I don’t know. I don’t think the preseason really affected us as much. We’ve just got to come out there with a better attitude.”
Houston will need to fix their offensive line issues in a hurry. The Baltimore Ravens visit NRG Stadium in Week 2 blitzed 23 times last week, the second-most in the league.
Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil made the Touchdown Wire’s all breakout team for 2020. How much more of a ceiling is there to Tunsil’s career?
Laremy Tunsil finally took steps in his career last year, such as earning his first Pro Bowl selection. Getting a new start with the Houston Texans may have been what the former Miami Dolphins 2016 first-round pick needed to get his career going.
According to the Touchdown Wire, Tunsil didn’t exactly breakout, or at least last year wasn’t considered the breakout for the Texans’ left tackle. Nonetheless, Tunsil claimed a spot on the site’s all breakout team:
It took a while, but last season Laremy Tunsil showed what he could do as a bookend left tackle in the NFL. After spending three years with the Miami Dolphins, including a rookie season spent largely at left guard, Tunsil was traded to the Houston Texans prior to the start of the 2019 campaign. He played 1,094 snaps at left tackle, a career-high, and allowed three sacks and only two quarterbacks hits. He benefits from playing in front of an athletic quarterback in Deshaun Watson, but Tunsil showed that he can handle the rigors of squaring off with the league’s best pass rushers. That earned him a three-year contract extension this offseason, and by this time next year he should be in the discussion for the league’s best LT.
Even though Tunsil did get recognition in the form of a Pro Bowl and also in the form of a contract extension with the Texans, he has room to grow. Tunsil led the NFL in false starts last season, and it was a setback for the Texans’ offense each time he flinched. However, he got somewhat of a pass from fans as he didn’t join the Texans until the end of preseason and the week prior to the season opener at the New Orleans Saints.
If the Texans have only scratched the surface with Tunsil’s potential, then it will be fascinating to see what the 26-year-old left tackle brings to Houston after having a full offseason and training camp with the club.
The Kansas City Chiefs used trash cans in practice to simulate the Houston Texans offensive line.
The Chiefs have entered a new phase of their practice. Photos of the Texans starting offensive linemen on the practice field are proof of that. pic.twitter.com/Egts5Md88H
The Kansas City Chiefs have entered a whole new phase of training camp, and could be getting ready for Week 1.
According to an image from Adam Tiecher on Twitter, the Chiefs put five trash cans on the practice field to represent the Houston Texans offensive line. How is anyone sure it is the Texans’ offensive line? Because plastered on each individual trash can are Houston’s mainline starters from last season.
The Chiefs used the trash cans to simulate the Texans’ offensive line ahead of their Week 6 showdown last year, which Houston got the better end of the encounter, 31-24. It isn’t clear if the Chiefs employed the same tactic ahead of their AFC divisional matchup, or at least it wasn’t as widely reported.
Houston’s offensive line is hardly garbage with all five starters returning for the first time since 2011, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil earning his first career Pro Bowl. Additionally, right tackle Tytus Howard earned a place on the Pro Football Writers of America’s all-rookie first team. The Texans’ offensive line may have been suspect in years past, specifically 2018 when quarterback Deshaun Watson took a league-high 62 sacks, but those days are in the rear view mirror.
The Chiefs will get an up close experience with the Texans’ offensive line on Sept. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium. They can find out with the rest of the NFL if the blocking unit stinks.
How does Dolphins’ OL measure up one year after Laremy Tunsil trade?
[jwplayer A9SlReLj-ThvAeFxT]
Yesterday wasn’t just any regular Sunday. And heck, it wasn’t even just the two week mark from the first NFL Sunday of the 2020 calendar year. No, yesterday was a significant landmark for the Miami Dolphins — it was the one year anniversary of the Laremy Tunsil trade with the Houston Texans. The Dolphins were a team firmly entrenched in a rebuild before the trade of Tunsil went down, but the deal that shipped the Dolphins’ left tackle to Houston for a boatload of draft picks formally kicked off the “Tank For Tua” campaign and ignited a ton of debate and conversation about Miami’s intentions for the season.
Of course, Miami would go on to go 5-11 on the season and win 5 of their final 9 contests on the year. And Tunsil would go on to help stabilize the Texans’ offensive line, cash in a monster payday with a record-setting contract that made him the highest paid tackle in football. It appeared to be a win-win. But this is really going to be a deal that only works out well for the Dolphins if Miami indeed fixes their offensive line woes.
How does the unit measure up now to the group Miami was poised to start at the beginning of last season before Tunsil was traded? Let’s take a look:
2019 Projected Starting Offensive Line
Left Tackle: Laremy Tunsil
Left Guard: Michael Deiter (R)
Center: Daniel Kilgore
Right Guard: Deion Calhoun (R)
Right Tackle: Jesse Davis
Tunsil is clearly the best asset on this group, with Jesse Davis likely serving as the next most reliable player. Youngster Michael Deiter entered the year as a rookie and likely would have played better with Tunsil to his left — but never the less he struggled to play consistently throughout the course of the season.
2020 Projected Starting Offensive Line
Left Tackle: Austin Jackson (R)
Left Guard: Ereck Flowers
Center: Ted Karras
Right Guard: Solomon Kindley (R)
Right Tackle: Jesse Davis or Robert Hunt (R)
Tunsil is still the best of the bunch. But between all 10 possible players, Flowers and Karras are the next best two options, plus the potential of Austin Jackson at left tackle as he gains more experience. The Dolphins’ 2020 group lacks the staple of Tunsil on the blind side but they offer exponentially more depth and even the overall talent in spots two through four in the starting five favor the 2020 edition up front for the Dolphins.
We’ll need to see how this group gels together, but at the very least this is an excellent start to Miami getting their line right and making the most of the deal that sent Tunsil packing. What a difference a year makes.
Houston Texans center Nick Martin blames the offensive line for left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s false start issues last season.
Laremy Tunsil had a notorious first season with the Houston Texans.
The former 2016 first-round pick made his first Pro Bowl, but also led the NFL with 14 false starts, and being the catalyst for the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain coining the term “Tunsilitis.”
Tunsil has taken responsibility for his part in the penalties that cost the Texans offense 70 yards over the course of the season. However, center Nick Martin won’t place the blame squarely on Tunsil’s shoulders.
“It’s all of us,” Martin said. “It’s never one person, no matter what it is. It’s a group effort. You’ve got five guys out there. You’ve got half the offense and it really is — it’s never on one of us. Obviously, he’s quick and he’s athletic and he’s going to do what he does. We’re not worried about him.”
Tunsil signed a three-year, $66 million contract extension with the Texans in the offseason, which makes him the highest paid offensive lineman in the game. Along with the having the biggest contract, Tunsil seeks to have as significant of an impact on the Texans offense.
“I’m very excited,” said Martin. “The tape doesn’t lie. We always say that in football, and you watch the tape and he’s dominating. We’re excited to have him here for a long time. I’m excited to play with him and see what this o-line can do.”
For the first time since 2011, the Texans will return all five starters along the offensive line. As a result, Houston should enjoy continuity along the blocking unit as they seek to defend their AFC South title.
