Texans Veteran Confident He's Fully Healthy for 2026 Season

The Houston Texans are getting healthier for the 2026 NFL season.

Especially when it comes to the status Texans veteran offensive tackle Trent Brown.

Brown, Houston's veteran swing tackle who started for nine games in the 2025 regular season, recently spoke about his current health and how he's feeling before heading into his second campaign with the Texans during an interview with SportsRadio 610— making it clear that he's at a much-improved status from where he stood a year ago.

“Just being able to actually train, not being a load managment situation... I can let loose and train a little bit," Brown said on how he's feeling ahead of the offseason. "Just excited about getting back to being me. If people think they saw me last year, then I think they’ll be even more excited what product I’ll be able to put on display this year.”

Texans' Trent Brown Looking to Have Even Better 2026 Season

Brown has cemented his status on next year's Texans roster thanks to the one-year, $7 million deal he signed before the start of free agency, and thus adding another dose of depth and a veteran presence to Houston's front line for next season.

It comes after a productive year in Houston for when Brown was healthy and on the field, which came during a late start to the season due to his recovery from a torn patellar tendon in the 2024 season when he was still with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Trent Brown (77) is taken off the field after an injury Monday, September 23, 2024 at Paycor Stadium. | Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brown would start in all seven games that he was active for at the Texans' right tackle, brought some added stability on the right side of Houston's line, and played well enough for Nick Caserio and Co. to give him a spot in the room for another year.

He's got great experience with over 100 NFL starts, has been a Pro Bowler once in his career back when he was with the then-Oakland Raiders, and showed solid promise in the reps he was healthy for once he returned to the field in Week 10 of the 2025 season.

Now that he's able to have a complete offseason in the building to train and be fully recovered from a patella injury that would force him out for over 12 months, Brown's confident that the Texans are getting an even better version of himself in what will be his age-33 season.

Trent Brown to Face More Competition in Texans' Tackle Room

The setup on the Texans' offensive line, through one week of free agency, already makes for a bit of a different setup for Brown from when he first signed his new deal––particularly when it comes to the signing of Braden Smith from the Indianapolis Colts that will likely fill in Houston's starting right tackle spot, and thus place Brown elsewhere.

Considering Smith is digned on for the next two seasons for a combined $20 million, there's a pretty strong chance that he's going to beat out Brown for that right tackle spot, and will hold down the fort on that side of the line for as long as he's able to stay healthy and on the field. That leaves Brown needing to pivot from the role he was comfortable in last season.

Whether that puts him in the mix as a backup swing tackle, or a starter elsewhere than right tackle, having that added competition at the Texans' most highly discussed position group is far from a poor situation for Houston to be put in.

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