It didn’t even take two days in March for general manager Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns to make a move to address their most glaring roster need.
The Browns are sending a fifth-round draft pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for veteran right tackle Tytus Howard, who is also signing a three-year extension with Cleveland. Howard’s about to enter his age-30 season, but he was easily the Texans’ top offensive lineman in 2025. In fact, his pass protection prowess alone already has Browns fans celebrating a potential steal for their rebuilding offense.
Howard not only started games at right guard, right tackle, and left guard for the Texans in 18 games last year, but he was charged with zero sacks and allowed just one quarterback hit in pass protection. For a Browns team that struggled to keep their quarterbacks upright in 2025, including 23 sacks in seven starts for Shedeur Sanders, this move feels like a major step in the right direction on paper.
Former #Texans OL Tytus Howard arguably had his best season as a Pro in 2025
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) March 2, 2026
He allowed a 4.8% pressure rate per Next Gen Stats. pic.twitter.com/MbVhPixrrb
Andrew Berry’s recent trade history should be scoring points with Browns fans
Browns fans have to give Berry credit for this: Most NFL GMs would crumble under the weight of a franchise-altering disaster like the Deshaun Watson trade and contract in 2022. Berry’s been able to bounce back with some strong moves that could end up helping the Browns climb out of their Watson mess in short order.
Last year’s blockbuster Travis Hunter trade with Jacksonville keeps looking more lopsided by the day, and Berry's savvy cornerback swap of Greg Newsome III for Tyson Campbell was an immediate value-add. Not every move will be a home run, but similar to his mentor out in Philadelphia, Howie Roseman, Berry’s been hitting more doubles and triples than singles in recent seasons.
His latest move for Howard screams little to lose, everything to gain. The Browns have been collecting fifth-round draft picks — a Roseman staple — and are still projected to hold two selections in that round after the Texans trade. The extension, expected to be about $17.5 million per year, according to Spotrac, is reasonable, as Howard could feasibly start at tackle or guard on any given week, depending on what head coach Todd Monken and the team needs.
What this move really does is give the Browns some added flexibility entering the start of free agency next week. A decision on left guard Joel Bitonio’s future will be coming by March 10, and the team could be saying goodbye to 2025 starters Jack Conklin, Ethan Pocic, and Wyatt Teller in the coming days. With a less than ideal cap situation, Berry will want to avoid overextending for free agents, especially with nine selections in the upcoming draft still in hand. This Howard move aids that cause.
Fifth-round picks make for excellent trade chips, as that range tends to include prospects with a wide range of expected outcomes.
In Cleveland’s case, they’re much better off burning one of those high-risk picks on a proven commodity — who just so happens to excel at stonewalling opposing pass rushers no matter where he's asked to line up.