Texans Announce Release of Veteran OL

Tomlinson, an 11-year NFL veteran, was brought into Houston this offseason as a hopeful patch for the Texans' reworked offensive line. He has experience with a number of NFL clubs through his past decade-plus in the league, including the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers.

Texans Release OG Laken Tomlinson

The 33-year-old veteran wound up starting Week 1 against the Los Angeles at Houston's left guard spot, where he would stay solidified for the next seven games of the year.

But in due time, the Texans would decide to shake up their offensive line due to their early season troubles upfront. Veteran Tytus Howard would shift from right tackle to left guard, inevitably taking Tomlinson's place on the interior of the left side, while Trent Brown would be elevated to Houston's starter at right tackle.

As a result, that led to Tomlinson being a healthy scratch for the past two weeks, and now heading into Week 14, the Texans have seemingly opted to let go of their offseason acquisition.

As the Texans move forward, their starting offensive line will likely look the same as it has for the past two weeks, with Howard and Ed Ingram manning the guard spots, Brown and rookie Aireontae Ersery at right and left tackle, while Jake Andrews continues to line up at center. Jarrett Patterson and Juice Scruggs will likely be the primary backups on the depth chart on the interior.

As for Tomlinson, there's still time for a team to pick him up off free agency as an addition to their respective depth chart heading deeper into the season, but it remains to be seen where exactly he'll end up now that his short time in Houston is officially up.