Houston Texans Set to Bench 3x Pro Bowl Player in Week 1
Sportsnaut · Andrew Buller-Russ · 2026-09-01T19:15:26+00:00 · nguồn gốc
After three consecutive trips to the AFC Divisional Round playoffs, the Houston Texans made some roster changes this offseason, many of which focused on offense. Despite ranking 13th in points last season, there’s hope that the Texans’ offense can be even better in 2026, and a revamped offensive line is a big reason why.
Yet, as part of those changes, the Texans had to make some tough decisions along the way, which now looks like it includes benching a three-time Pro Bowler who was signed to a respectable contract earlier this offseason.
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Houston Texans Won’t Be Starting Wyatt Teller in Season Opener
Texans general manager Nick Caserio has been busy working in the shadows piecing together Houston’s roster. That work has been ongoing since last season ended with a 28-16 loss to the New England Patriots on Jan. 18th.
One of those moves included signing three-time Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller to a two-year, $16 million contract, just eight days after he was cut loose in Cleveland. The belief was that Teller would occupy one of the Texans’ starting spots along the offensive interior, but that doesn’t look to be the case.
According to Caserio, the Texans’ starting line will probably be Aireontae Ersery, Keylan Rutledge, Evan Brown, Ed Ingram, and Trent Brown in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Caserio also called Rutledge, who was the 26th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the team’s “best offensive lineman.”
Still, it’s a bit surprising that Teller wasn’t able to secure a starting spot in Houston. Yet, considering he’s only played one year at left guard, coming back in his rookie season in 2018, it always felt like a wonky fit with Ed Ingram entrenched at right guard. Once the Texans made the decision to draft Rutledge, it made Teller’s chances of securing a starting job even more difficult. Yet, there was some thought that the Texans could try to work Rutledge more at center, paving a path for Teller to start at left guard, but evidently that idea didn’t take root in Houston.
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