Texans continue to be active, acquire Shaq Mason from Bucs

The Houston Texans have added several potential starters for new head coach DeMeco Ryans over the first day-plus of the NFL free agent tampering period.

The latest move was the acquisition of underrated guard Shaq Mason from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a mere swap of late-round picks.

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Houston sends a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Buccaneers for a seventh-round pick and Mason. For what it’s worth, the veteran guard had been on the trade block for some time with Tampa Bay wanting to get out from his expensive 2023 cap hit.

Given Houston’s cap situation, it had more than enough money to take on the $8.5 million hit. Interestingly enough, reports also broke that the Texans are already looking to extend Mason. This means he might not be a mere stopgap option.

Whoever is under center for the Texans next season will be getting a mauler at guard in Mason. Mason started all 17 games at guard for Tampa Bay in 2022. Pro Football Focus graded him out as the 19th-best guard in the NFL.

It sure looks like the Texans are attempting to build a solid offensive line in front of young running back Dameon Pierce and an unnamed new signal caller. Mason will team up with Kenyon Green at guard. Laremy Tunsil remains one of the better left tackles in the game. That’s a solid trio right there.