Browns OT Tytus Howard profile: Everything you need to know
· Yahoo Sports
The Cleveland Browns made a trade with the Houston Texans to receive their starting right tackle, Tytus Howard. He played and started in 93 games for Houston since being drafted by the team in 2019. The Texans were his only team until Cleveland GM Andrew Berry sent a fifth-round draft pick for the talented offensive tackle.
Visit sweetbonanza-app.com for more information.
Coming to Cleveland will be a culture shock for the talented young man. Not at first, but when those winds begin to circulate off of Lake Erie, and the thermometer starts to drop.
You see, Howard is a Southern kid. He always has been. From elementary school to the NFL, he has been situated in the South all of his life. Now, welcome to Cleveland. Good luck with that. Somebody please instruct Howard on what type of outerwear he needs to purchase. And a scarf. Maybe some boots and lots of thermals. Several beanies and the right type of gloves.
Although the trade has been completed, it will not be official until the NFL’s 2026 business year begins on March 11. Cleveland sent Houston their 2026 fifth-round pick in April’s NFL draft. It marks the second offensive lineman that Berry has traded for with the Texans in consecutive seasons. Last year, he acquired OT Cam Robinson in a trade.
Who is Tytus Howard (6’-5”, 322 pounds)? What does he offer the Browns?
Beginnings
Howard spent his entire life in Monroeville, Alabama.
The population of Monroeville teeters around 6,000, depending on the year. It is located just north of Mobile, Alabama, and is an exit right off I-65 on the way to Montgomery, Alabama. The town has a junior college and is the birthplace of Harper Lee, who penned “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Each spring, the Monroe County Heritage Museum puts on a play with local talent based on the book and receives over 30,000 tourists annually.
Howard attended Monroe County High School and played basketball, plus he was the quarterback on their football team. He was already 6’-5” tall and weighed 225 pounds at this level. In his final game as a senior, Howard had 16 carries for 315 yards, and his school scored over 50 that night. Needless to say, he was a load to bring down.
But nobody at the college level wants their quarterbacks to be that big because speed does not accompany size. And a college team would rather throw every down instead of running the ball constantly. Plus, a good QB has to be accurate when they throw, something Howard didn’t have.
His only interest in him as a football player was at Alabama State University, which began in 1867. It is located in Montgomery.
Alabama State immediately switched Howard to play tight end. Howard had gone from small-school USA to another small school at the next level. Almost nobody had an interest in him, so he used that as motivation and found a chip that he placed on his shoulder to see how big it would grow.
Howard found the weight room and began working out pretty fiercely. He had left Monroeville lifting 185 pounds. In his sophomore year, the coaching staff moved him into the offensive line room. There, he played every position except center.
Part of his regimen was to improve his weight lifting and an extensive eating regimen. His daily eating habits included grabbing breakfast, followed by a midmorning snack, a large lunch that consisted of seconds, a snack in the afternoon, and a pretty good dinner. Oh, and a snack before bed. All of this was programmed to help him gain added weight and fill out his frame.
In his sophomore campaign, Howard played in six games. The following season, he started seven contests. By his senior year, he was one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s best offensive linemen.
That senior year, he played all 11 games at right tackle and led the team in pancakes. He allowed only one sack all season and was named First Team All-SWAC while earning a degree in criminal justice. He received an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl. At this event, it is full of Power-5 schools, but Howard used his small-school status as a badge of honor to show he belonged among some of the best athletes in the nation.
On to the NFL
The Houston Texans were rebuilding their offensive line in 2019 after this group was ranked #32 and had given up the most sacks in the NFL. With Deshaun Watson under center, the club had just gone 11-5-0, but with a makeshift line and struggled to pass block. They had journeyman Kendall Lamm at RT, Julien Davenport at LT, and Senio Kelemete at LG. The coaching staff wanted new bodies for all three.
First, with the 23rd pick in Round 1, the Texans selected Howard. His selection became the first player in the 152-year history of Alabama State to have a player drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. When drafted, Howard was over 100 pounds heavier than when he left high school.
Houston had two picks in Round 2 and selected OT Max Scharping out of Northern Illinois with their second selection in the round. Then, at the end of training camp, they traded for LT Laremy Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins.
Both Howard and Scharping started Week 1 along with their new linemate Tunsil, with holdovers C Nick Martin and RG Zach Fulton. Howard played seven games at RT and one game at LG before being injured with a torn meniscus that placed him on IR. But he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.
The #Texans placed first round pick RT Tytus Howard on injured reserve because of a torn meniscus that will now get fixed, source said. He has been battling it. They signed DL Eddie Vanderdoes to the active roster to fill the spot.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 30, 2019
In this second NFL season, Howard started the first 14 games at RT but then suffered a concussion in Week 15, which necessitated a move to IR with just two games remaining. In this third year, he missed two games due to COVID.
Before the 2022 season, the Texans picked up his fifth-year option. He rewarded his team by playing a complete season with 17 starts and receiving Pro Bowl votes, but was never named to the league All-Star game or named an alternate.
During his career with Houston, he was considered a high-performing and often underappreciated offensive lineman. On July 26, 2023, Howard and the Texans agreed to a three-year, $56 million contract extension.
Howard broke his hand early in the 2023 season during a practice session. He came back in Week 5 and played in the 21-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He ended up with seven starts. In the off-season, Howard was voted the “2023 Black College Football Pro Player of the Year” award given out by the NFLPA and the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Howard started 16 games in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
With the trade to Cleveland, Howard will receive a new three-year, $63 million deal that will keep him with the franchise through the 2029 season. His existing contract was set to expire at the end of the 2026 season, and now gives the Browns an established starter.
After the news of the trade, Howard told Aaron Wilson of KPRC Channel 2 in Houston:
“I wasn’t surprised. They’re trying to get younger and pay some guys. I ain’t mad. I kind of knew it was going to happen. I just appreciate the support over the last seven years. I’ll always be a Texan forever. I’m excited to go to Cleveland and turn the city up and help change the program and win some games.”
Howard is just 29-years old and was considered Houston’s best offensive lineman. Cleveland ranked #31 in offensive line play last year, with only LT Dawand Jones most likely returning. LG Joel Bitonio could retire, while RT Jack Conklin and C Ethan Pocic are free agents. RG Wyatt Teller is also a free agent and has already told the Cleveland fanbase his goodbyes and is looking forward to moving on.
So far, the Browns’ offensive line, as it continues to form going into training camp, will be C Luke Wypler, LT Jones, and RT Howard as starters, and backups OG Zak Zinter, OTs Jeremiah Byers and KT Levenston, and three players listed as centers: Justin Osbourne, Kendrick Green, and Kingsley Eguakun. Free agency begins March 9, and the NFL draft is April 23-25, which should fill out the room.
In the 2025 season, Cleveland ranked #24 in run block win rate and #20 in pass block win rate. Howard’s Pro Football Focus grade was 62.7, with a very good pass block grade of 77.1 and a very poor run block grade of 50.7. He had eight penalties and allowed zero sacks. No, not a misprint. Zero sacks allowed. And Howard brings versatility to the offensive line room. Last year, he played 555 snaps at RT, 334 snaps at LG, and 132 offensive plays at RG.
Just because Howard came from a small town and went to a smaller school doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the talent to compete at this level. He was drafted high for a reason.
For Howard, that reason has been a continual journey to prove he belongs in the NFL, showing clubs he has what it takes to compete at the highest level while using his modest background like a badge of honor.
He has lived a life of being overlooked, including very good seasons in the league where he should have sniffed the Pro Bowl. But the bumpy road is his journey and has made him the player he is today.
Does Howard have any complaints?
Not yet. But it’s possible, for weather reasons. Howard’s life consisted of growing up in southern Alabama, going four years of college in central Alabama, followed by seven years in the climate hotbed called Houston, Texas, which, by the way, they play their games in a dome. All are very warm-to-hot climates for most of the calendar year. Even at the Senior Bowl, he played for the “South” squad.
Welcome to Cleveland. Bundle up, Ty. Be ready for a rude awakening around late October and all the way through the holidays. That’s when Howard will notice that he’s not in Kansas anymore.