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Posted
1 hour ago, Macklemore said:

I like the deal. The TE room needed to be beefed up after losing Brevin Jordan for the year.

Seems like Berrios is going to make the team because of his return ability, so the last WR slot likely was coming down to Metchie or Hutchinson, and I’d rather keep the latter because of his YAC ability and skill on running reverses. We’re thin at TE so seems like a good move vs just cutting Metchie (even though by all accounts he was having a good camp)….

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Posted
11 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

Seems like Berrios is going to make the team because of his return ability, so the last WR slot likely was coming down to Metchie or Hutchinson, and I’d rather keep the latter because of his YAC ability and skill on running reverses. We’re thin at TE so seems like a good move vs just cutting Metchie (even though by all accounts he was having a good camp)….

Metchie was having a good camp, but he just hasn't been the same since coming back and he doesn't have the explosiveness shown by the other receivers.

They sent him to a play where he knows some people and if he can make the roster he is going to play in games that matter.  

Don't know much about the tight end coming back other than he supposedly can catch.  

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Posted

Great news!

Ersery looks very promising. Very happy we got rid of Tunsil and made wholesale changes to the OL. They were the antithesis of SWARM last season.

 

How Texans rookie Aireontae Ersery is ushering in a new era of smash-mouth play on offensive line

 Summarize

Jonathan M. Alexander

Houston Texans offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery stands on the sidelines between drills during an NFL training camp practice at Houston Methodist Training Center in Houston, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025.

Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

It was only a few minutes after Aireontae Ersery was drafted that the 23-year-old left tackle checked his phone. Hundreds of text messages were flooding in from friends and family congratulating him on being drafted by the Houston Texans. 

But one text from a number he didn’t have saved stood out. 

“Hey, it’s C.J. (Stroud), man,” the text read. “Excited to have you on the team.” 

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Ersery wasn’t sure whether the message was fake or real. Several notable draftees received calls from people pretending to be GMs, only to find out the calls were pranks.

But “to heck with it,” Ersery thought, and responded anyway. 

“I’m going to die on the O-line for you,” Ersery texted back. “I’m going to die out there.” 

Turns out it was Stroud, who relayed the story after the Texans' preseason win over Carolina on Saturday. 

LOOKING GOOD: A promising start for C.J. Stroud and Texans' first-team offense

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When asked about these comments, Ersery’s facial expression doesn’t change. 

There’s no laugh or grin. He’s straight-faced because he meant every word, even if it was only said in the figurative sense.

“I just wanted to let him know what type of player he was getting, how my mind works, how I went about my business,” Ersery told the Chronicle. “My playing style and why I play like that. I just wanted him to know that somebody has got his back out there.” 

Ersery describes his playing style as “physical and aggressive.” He’s adamant he’s not a lineman who plays with finesse. 

“I want to run through you,” he said. “Each and every play.”

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That’s likely a welcomed reprieve for Texans’ Twitter, which had the impression that the players on last year’s offensive line were filled with pretty boys who cared more about how they looked off the field. 

The line’s play on the field in 2024 helped re-enforce that narrative whether it was true or not. They often looked out of sync and not on the same page. And they gave up the second-most sacks in the NFL, including eight in the AFC’s divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

But new offensive line coach Cole Popovich, and Ersery, the Texans’ second-round pick, are helping to usher in a new era of smash mouth play, providing hope that things have finally changed. 

To be an offensive lineman under Popovich, one must be relentless, or as Stroud put it Saturday, “you’ve got to be really gritty, want to grind, want it dirty, want it in the worst way.”

This new offensive line group — with four new starters — has displayed those traits. 

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But in many ways it starts with Ersery, whom the Texans hope will protect Stroud’s blindside for many years to come.  

“I think ‘Tae’ has one of the best mindsets I’ve seen from a rookie in my couple years in the league,” Stroud said. “He wants to be great. He asks the questions. Going against Will (Anderson) and Danielle (Hunter) every day makes him really good.”

‘He’s just a good player’

Ersery initially began training camp as the second-team right tackle behind Blake Fisher. He took the starting role a week later. 

Then Cam Robinson, the starter at left tackle, went down with an injury two weeks ago. Ersery moved over to left tackle and hasn’t looked back. Through two preseason games, a joint practice against the Panthers and the last two weeks of training camp, it appears he may be the answer the Texans were looking for after trading Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders for several draft picks. 

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Ersery has dropped back in pass protection 20 times, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, and has only allowed one quarterback pressure. 

“He loves football and he works,” offensive coordinator Nick Caley said. “So, we just got to keep going at that trajectory and keep pushing him. He wants to be coached.”

The Texans loved Ersery's mindset and what he was made of. They initially tried to trade up from No. 58 to No. 38 with the New England Patriots to get him, offering picks No. 58, No. 79 and a 2026 third-rounder for No. 38. 

ROSTER PROJECTION: Projecting the Houston Texans' 53-man roster one week before cut day

But they were rebuffed. They instead traded up from No. 58 to No. 48 when Ersery slipped and drafted him. 

“It wasn’t hard to see on the tape that he had a certain level of ability, and he’s got great size and strength and length and uses that well,” Popovich said. “He plays the game the right way in terms of some of the things we were looking for organizationally, like finish, toughness and effort.

“He’s just a good player. Put on the tape and you could see it.” 

Turn on the tape from his first two preseason games and you see Ersery moving defenders, clearing paths and creating massive holes for his running backs. 

And he’s keeping pass rushers away from Stroud long enough for the quarterback to find the open receiver. 

Right tackle Tytus Howard had three words to describe Ersery. 

“He’s the truth,” Howard said. 

‘Going to be a long day’

Ersery wants to make defenders feel his power on the football field. 

He wants you to know, “it’s going to be a long day,” he says. 

This season, he’ll be a vital part to Houston’s success whether he plays at left or right tackle when Robinson returns from an injury. The veteran left tackle practicedfor the first time since suffering the injury in practice at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. 

Before his injury, Robinson, who was signed to a $12 million contract this offseason, was the presumed starting left tackle. It’s unclear if it will remain that way. The lineup featuring Ersery at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Jake Andrews at center, Ed Ingram at right guard, Howard at right tackle has hands down been the best lineup in camp. 

Coach DeMeco Ryans, who wasn’t ready to reveal exactly what they’d do, said the plan is to mix and match lineups to seek the best fit. 

“However the lineup looks, it will shape itself out,” Ryans said Monday.  

Ersery said he’s fine with that. He admits he hasn’t done anything yet. And he’s willing to do whatever it takes wherever he plays. 

“Nothing is easy,” Ersery said. “Everything is earned in this league, so just put myself in a position to earn the right to go out there and play my best. 

“I’ve got to give all the credit to God.”

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