Are the Texans planning to sit LT Laremy Tunsil out for the Titans game?

The Houston Texans made roster moves on Saturday that indicate they will have LT Laremy Tunsil inactive for Week 17’s tilt with the Tennessee Titans.

The Houston Texans may declare left tackle Laremy Tunsil inactive for the Tennessee Titans game, not even dressing him for the Week 17 rematch with their AFC South rivals.

A series of roster moves on Saturday suggests the 10-5 division champions won’t dress the former 2016 first-round pick, who was limited all week in practice with an ankle injury and declared questionable on the final injury report.

On Saturday, the Texans waived defensive lineman Joel Heath, and in a corresponding move they promoted offensive tackle Elijah Nkansah from the practice squad to the active roster.

Dropping Heath is one of the moves the Texans make when they add a player due to an injury at another position.

Case in point: in Week 12, coming off of a 41-7 beat down in Baltimore, safety Jonathan Owens was signed to the active roster from the practice squad as Justin Reid would be out for the rematch with the Indianapolis Colts with a concussion. As a result, the Texans waived Heath.

However, when the club lets go of Heath, it doesn’t mean that he is out of their plans. After they got through Week 12 and Reid was back, they waived Owens and signed Heath back to the active roster.

With Heath dropped for Week 17, the game relatively meaningless in terms of getting out of wild-card weekend, and Tunsil, a Pro Bowl left tackle, battling an ankle injury, all signs point to Nkansah being the swing tackle as tackles Roderick Johnson and Chris Clark help the Texans get through the final 60 minutes of the regular season.

Jamarco Jones’ struggles could force change at left tackle in Week 17

Jamarco Jones struggled filling in for Duane Brown at left tackle for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, which could force a change in Week 17.

Among the many things that didn’t go well on Sunday for the Seattle Seahawks in their loss to the Arizona Cardinals was the pass protection all across the offensive line.

Cardinals defensive end Chandler Jones, who has been a thorn in Seattle’s side for years, absolutely dominated on Sunday, racking up four sacks, six quarterback hits and two forced fumbles. Jones did most of his damage against fill-in starter Jamarco Jones, who was making his first NFL start at left tackle in place of Duane Brown, who was out after having surgery on his arm.

“It was hard,” Pete Carroll said of Jones’ performance. “He went against a great guy and it worked him the whole day. He did a lot of things that were really good. The sacks that his guy had weren’t all on him. It didn’t all happen because of his protection and all. He was tested. That was a real test. Chandler [Jones] is an amazing player.”

Jones earned a pass protection grade from Pro Football Focus of 17.4, one of the worst marks of the week across the league.

It’s a bit unfair to judge Jones on this one performance, particularly against a strong opponent, but it has given Carroll pause for how they plan to handle a similarly strong pass rush attack from San Francisco in Week 17.

Carroll wouldn’t commit to Jones starting in place of Brown again this week, and it would make sense for Seattle to try George Fant, who has played much more left tackle in his career, in that spot instead.

The team likes keeping Fant in that role as an extra run blocker, but perhaps trying Jordan Roos, or Jones, in that role will be the game plan on Sunday.

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All duds and no studs in Seahawks 27-13 loss to Cardinals Week 16

The Seattle Seahawks suffered a devastating loss to the Arizona Cardinals Week 16, with players struggling on both sides of the ball.

For the fifth time in the last seven years, the Seattle Seahawks were embarrassed at home by the Arizona Cardinals. For whatever reason, the Cardinals always seem to know the trick to defeating the Seahawks in Seattle.

Of all the losses in the past seven years, Sunday’s was without a doubt the most disastrous in the recent series. The Seahawks looked absolutely futile in every aspect of the game, leaving little room for hope moving forward.

Before the day began, the Seahawks were on the inside track for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye, and a division title. Now, they are staring directly at a wild card spot, perhaps even as low as the No. 6 seed, with a trip to either Lambeau Field or a return to Philadelphia.

There is no other way to put it – this one was brutal. As a result, there are only duds and no studs in Week 16.

Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown to undergo knee surgery Monday

Inactive Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown will undergo knee surgery on Monday.

The Seattle Seahawks have been absolutely decimated by injuries over the last few weeks, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. However, that all changed on Sunday with the loss of two running backs and an offensive lineman – potentially for the remainder of the season.

Running backs Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise both left the Week 16 contest against the Cardinals and will likely not return this year. Carson suffered a hip injury and Prosise left the matchup after breaking his arm.

The final hit came after the game when coach Pete Carroll announced left tackle Duane Brown would undergo knee surgery on Monday. Brown was inactive for Seattle’s loss to Arizona.

“He needs to get his knee fixed,” Carroll said after the game. “He tried like crazy to get through it this week just couldn’t. He did everything during the week and couldn’t get it to quiet down. He just needs to get his knee cleaned up.”

Carroll did note that the procedure is not considered a major surgery and Brown does have a chance to return this season. However, Brown will likely be up against the clock to get back in time as Seattle continues its run at the playoffs.

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Texans LT Laremy Tunsil is ‘fine’ after 23-20 win over Buccaneers

Houston Texans LT Laremy Tunsil is “fine” after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, a game he left with a little over 2:00 to play.

Left tackle Laremy Tunsil did not finish the Houston Texans’ 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With 2:37 left in the fourth quarter, the Pro Bowl 25-year-old Tunsil struggled to get up after a DeAndre Carter five-yard reception on third-and-6. He would not return.

Despite not finishing the game, Tunsil was upbeat after the Texans clinched the AFC South in the win.

Tunsil said he’s “fine,” postgame, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “Football happened,” he concluded.

Tunsil previously missed the Texans’ Week 9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars due to a shoulder injury. Despite so, the NFL named him as a Pro Bowler for the first time in his career on Tuesday.

The Texans traded for the talented blindside protector on Aug. 31, sending a package highlighted by two first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins. Since then, the Ole Miss has given Houston the best left tackle play its seen since Duane Brown protected for Matt Schaub.

Texans LT Laremy Tunsil accomplishes childhood goal with Pro Bowl selection

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil accomplished a goal from his childhood when he made the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl on Tuesday evening.

Laremy Tunsil can take out a Sharpie, fly to Lake City, Fla. and cross out a life-long goal on a list that remains pasted on the wall of his parents’ house.

The Houston Texans left tackle earned his first Pro Bowl nod on Tuesday. In doing so, he accomplished one of the goals he had as a child,

“It’s been a goal since I was a kid, man, to be in the Pro Bowl, and I achieved it,” Tunsil said on Wednesday. “There’s always more goals to be achieved, and  I want to be in as many Pro Bowls as I can, so I’ve got to keep putting the hard work in and keep going.”

In middle school — specifically seventh grade — Tunsil wrote down a list of goals that he wanted to accomplish in his football career, which included making the Pro Bowl, being drafted and earning a scholarship to play.

“I wrote down all my goals and I put on a sheet of paper and I glued it on my wall back in my hometown,” Tunsil said. “It’s still there. I should take a picture of it.”

It didn’t take long for Tunsil to accomplish many of his goals. A left tackle protigé coming into his Ole Miss career, the 25-year-old transitioned smoothly to the NFL

Following a season of playing left guard for the Miami Dolphins, Tunsil moved full-time to left tackle in 2017, where flourished. For two seasons, he gave South Beach consistent play at the position. The Texans noticed by deciding to mortgage their future in a trade to acquire him.

In Houston, Tunsil is now recognized as one of the NFL’s best with the Pro Bowl honor. Now, he’s making sure this isn’t the last time he accomplishes a long-standing goal.

“I want to be able to go to as many Pro Bowls as I can,” Tunsil concluded, “so I can’t be just stuck on this one.”

Touchdown Wire thinks Texans LT Laremy Tunsil shouldn’t have made the Pro Bowl

Touchdown Wire believes Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz should have made the Pro Bowl over Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Pro Bowl selections are like Christmas Day: someone is always going to be whining about what someone else got.

Enter Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who earned his first career Pro Bowl selection Tuesday night. The honor is vindication for coach Bill O’Brien and the five-man general managing council that traded a king’s ransom to the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 31 to acquire the 2016 first-round pick. The results are also quantifiable as quarterback Deshaun Watson has gone from taking 62 in 2018 to 39 in 2019 with two games to go. Probably the best indicator that Tunsil has helped the offensive line is that Watson had  two-game stretch from Weeks 5-6 where he did not take a single sack, a feat not seen around Houston since Weeks 1-2 of the 2014 season, the start of the O’Brien era.

But Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz is just a tad better, according to Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire.

Schwartz has been one of the better right tackles of the last few years, and he’s never made a Pro Bowl, though he was an All-Pro in 2018. This season, he’s allowed just one sack, five quarterback hits, and 12 quarterback hurries. Meanwhile, Tunsil has allowed three sacks and 15 hurries. Both players have allowed 18 total pressures, but the sack total should push Tunsil out and Schwartz in.

The only way Texans fans would go for Schwartz replacing Tunsil is if the latter is preparing for Super Bowl LIV in Miami Gardens, Fla. Otherwise, Tunsil earning the Pro Bowl nod is an indication that Watson’s blindside is going to be safe for years to come.

Texans LT Laremy Tunsil feels he has a target on his back for officials to call false starts

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil feels like he has a target on his back for officials to call false starts.

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil led the NFL with nine false starts coming into Week 14.

Add another three to the former 2016 first-round pick’s total, and it safe to say he will also lead the league when Week 15 kicks off.

Tunsil told reporters after the Texans’ 38-24 loss to the Denver Broncos Sunday at NRG Stadium that he believes the false starts are due to a target being on his back.

Each of Tunsil’s three false starts led to the Texans’ drive stalling. The only one that didn’t wasn’t his second such penalty in the second quarter right before time expired.

It could be that Tunsil has a target on his back. However, the target seems to have gotten there thanks to some poor play on the former Miami Dolphins’ part as well. Nonetheless, it is an issue the Texans will have to correct or overcome as they gear up for the final three games of the season with two coming against the Tennessee Titans.

Saints re-sign practice squad OL/TE convert Nate Wozniak

The New Orleans Saints re-signed Nate Wozniak, a collegiate tight end they converted to left tackle, to their practice squad on Wednesday.

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The New Orleans Saints offensive line received some added depth on Wednesday, with Amie Just of Nola.com reporting that the team re-signed offensive lineman Nate Wozniak. Wozniak, the former 6-foot-9 Minnesota Golden Gophers tight end, learned to play left tackle while with the Saints from May 2018 to August 2019. He spent the intervening months with stints on the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons practice squads, as well as trying out for a handful of teams.

Wozniak clearly has the size and length to play in the NFL, but rehearsed technique has eluded him so far. He never progressed beyond lining up at left tackle with the third-string offensive line while in New Orleans through two offseasons, and probably still needs a lot of work before he’ll be game-ready. The good news is that stepping into a game against NFL pass rushers shouldn’t happen for a while, with several players between him and the starting unit.

Here’s a projection of what the Saints depth chart looks like right now at offensive tackle:

  1. LT Terron Armstead (injured)
  2. RT Ryan Ramczyk
  3. LG/LT Andrus Peat (injured)
  4. LG/LT Patrick Omameh
  5. LT Ethan Greenidge
  6. OL John Leglue (practice squad)
  7. RT Derrick Kelly (practice squad
  8. LT Nate Wozniak

We’re still waiting on news of who left the Saints practice squad to create room for Wozniak, who would be the third offensive lineman on the unit along with Leglue and Kelly, both rookies. So stay tuned for the official NFL transactions wire to update with that information.

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LT Laremy Tunsil continues to prove his worth to Texans

The Houston Texans traded a treasure trove of draft picks to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil in August. That is paying off tenfold.

When the Houston Texans shipped over two first-round picks, a second and change to South Beach for left tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills, skeptics were enraged. The package, to many, was far too much for a 25-year-old tackle without a Pro-Bowl bid to his name.

Those skeptics are waning. Tunsil has proved his worth. Those over at Pro Football Focus can prove it.

According to PFF, Tunsil has a 92.3 pass-blocking grade since Week 2 of the 2019 campaign, best among all offensive players. His 90.8 pass-blocking grade for the entire season is the best in Texans franchise history, since the debut of PFF (2006).

Though missing one game and earning his fair share of false start penalties, the trade to acquire Tunsil has paid off for the Texans. He, by all means, is a franchise blindside protector at just 25 years old. Houston would pull the trigger, to send a treasure of picks, again in a heartbeat.