Training camp is going to bring a sharp spotlight to Houston, and the biggest questions all circle back to whether the Texans can take the next step with C.J. Stroud at the center of it.
Stroud’s bounce-back is the headliner here. The Texans have made it clear they remain committed to him, but this season feels like a proving ground.
If he can’t get back to his rookie form, the margin for error gets much thinner. The expectation is simple: fewer mistakes, no more postseason turnovers, and a return to the kind of play that made him look like the answer in the first place.
One thing that should help is the ground game. Houston’s lack of running last season didn’t make life easy on Stroud, and the addition of David Montgomery is meant to change that.
His downhill style should force defenses to respect the run more, which means the tackle boxes shouldn’t be as crowded. That kind of balance could open up more chances to push the ball downfield and turn drives into touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.
Then there’s Tank Dell, whose recovery remains another major camp storyline. The Texans are being patient after the brutal 2024 injury that left him with a dislocated knee and torn ACL, MCL, and LCL.
He’s making steady progress and working to get back on the field. The big question is what he looks like when he returns.
Houston is hoping he hasn’t lost much of a step and can get back close to the level he showed before the injury.
In Other News...
Texans Camp Could Push A Few Familiar Names To The Brink
With training camp getting close, the Texans are about to put a handful of familiar names under the kind of pressure that usually decides the back end of a 53-man roster. The early read on the bubble is pretty straightforward: some players are positioned to hang around, while others are walking into crowded rooms where recent performance, special teams value and positional fit will matter more than reputation.
At linebacker, Hansen is the kind of player who could get one more look as the team sorts through the fallout from E.J. Speeds injury, but the tighter squeeze may come elsewhere. The tackle group already has Aireontae Ersery on the left, Braden Smith on the right and Trent Brown as the swing backup, which leaves Fisher searching for a clean path, and the tight end room looks equally unforgiving with Brevin Jordan, Foster Moreau and Marlin Klein all in the mix. By the time camp settles in, names like Andrews, Brooks, Hill, Reed, Stover and Sobkowicz will have a much clearer sense of whether they are pushing toward the roster or toward the wrong side of the cut line. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Suddenly Have A High Stakes Decision To Make Up Front
The Texans are sorting through a key camp battle up front, and the right tackle spot has become one of the more interesting decisions on the roster. Free agent signing Braden Smith and incumbent Trent Brown are the main names in the mix, giving Houston a choice between a player with starting experience and a veteran who already knows what it looks like to handle the job in this offense.
Brown handled the first-team work during OTAs and minicamp while Smith worked his way back, so the early picture has leaned one way. Still, the Texans are treating the competition as open, and the final call could come down to health and how each player looks once the pads come on in training camp. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Fans Werent Ready For How Joe Mixons Houston Run Ended
Joe Mixons Houston stint never really got the long runway fans imagined when he arrived with a proven rsum and the kind of track record that suggested he could be a steadying piece of the offense. His first season with the Texans gave a glimpse of that value, with a productive all-around role that fit what the team wanted from him and reminded everyone why he had been such a difficult back to deal with for so long.
Then the story turned abruptly. A foot injury wiped out his 2025 season, and Houston moved on by releasing him in March 2026 after he spent the year on the non-football injury list. For a player who once looked like he could anchor a backfield for years, the end of the Texans chapter came far sooner and far quieter than anyone in Houston expected. [Read more 🡒]