Texans OL coach James Campen says they are evaluating the best five-man combination

The perception is third-year right tackle Tytus Howard is battling with former New England Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon for his job.

The reality, according to Houston Texans offensive line coach James Campen, is that the team is evaluating the versatility of their offensive line, not just each particular spot.

“I think the competition is really more widespread than just two players, and I do believe that,” Campen told reporters on a Zoom call on June 8. “We have eight tackles on our roster right now, and I think seven or eight guys that can play. We have some flexibility with our linemen, which I think that is a lineman that can play more than one position and can be trained as such.”

Campen did admit that Cannon, who started 69 of his 115 games played for the Patriots from 2011-19, has been a right tackle for the majority of his career, and he didn’t, “anticipate him moving very much.”

Howard has already shown his versatility going back to his rookie season when he played left guard for the Texans throughout preseason and even started Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars at left guard. If Howard gets booted from right tackle, he could compete for one of the guard spots.

“I think that the competition is what’s going to be really exciting,” Campen said. “It’s going to help these players to get the best out of them, to motivate them, and it’s going to be a heck of a camp until this thing kicks off. I’m excited to see how it shakes out. I really am.”

Players report to training camp on July 27. The Texans offensive and defensive lines have not been wearing pads, and haven’t had the chance to hit each other. When the pads come on and hits are allowed in practice, the true evaluation begins.