Houston Texans Lineman Gets Candid on Strange Toxic Culture Rumors

When the Houston Texans traded star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil earlier in the offseason, some rather strange reports of a "toxic" locker room culture — particularly among the offensive linemen — surfaced as a reason for the move.

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans refuted the rumors, and now, offensive lineman Tytus Howard has set the record straight on the speculation, as well.

"I don’t know where that came from," Howard said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. "We didn’t have a toxic group, as far as the players and stuff like that. We didn’t have a toxic group. I feel like the guys on the group has always been close since I’ve been here."

Howard is preparing to enter his seventh season in Houston, as he was originally selected by the Texans with the 23rd overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.

The Alabama State product has not really lived up to expectations for the squad, but part of that may be due to the fact that he has been forced to play multiple positions since arriving.

Howard has mostly played tackle for the Texans, but also spent a year at guard in 2021. Now, the 29-year-old is moving back to the guard spot with Houston adding tackle Cam Robinson and selecting fellow tackle Aireontae Ersery in the second round of the draft.

We'll see how Howard handles yet another position change, and perhaps more importantly, we'll see if we hear any more scuttlebutt about a "toxic" locker room in H-Town.