The Houston Texans have big expectations for the 2025 season and it was apparent during the teams OTA workouts and minicamp. The Texans are back-to-back defending AFC South champions but they’re still outside of the conversation of legitimate Super Bowl contenders after losing in the divisional round of the playoffs each of the past two seasons.
To bridge the gap, the Texans made several moves throughout the roster but had their biggest overhaul along the offensive line. The decisions brought several new faces to Houston to protect C.J. Stroud, but one free agent signing may not be living up to his contract as the Texans look to make the jump next season.
Cam Robinson’s Performance a Concern for Texans Coming out of OTAs
One of the biggest moves as part of the offensive line overhaul was the signing of Cam Robinson. Robinson was signed to replace Laremy Tunsil, who was traded to the Washington Commanders, and the former divisional adversary appeared to be a solid transitional piece after spending over seven seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the second half of last season with the Minnesota Vikings.
While Robinson has the pedigree of a solid left tackle, his performance during OTAs left something to be desired. ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime noted his top takeaways during OTAs on Tuesday and had the Texans’ dominant pass rush at the top of the list.
“Defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. continue to look formidable,” Bien-Aime wrote. “Both were giving the offensive tackle trio of Cam Robinson, Aireontae Ersery and Blake Fisher issues at time. On Day 1 of minicamp, Anderson and Hunter had a rep during 11-on-11 when they both met Stroud in a collapsing pocket in the backfield.”
This sounds great for the Texans defense but not so much for an offensive line that allowed Stroud to be sacked 52 times during the regular season and eight times in a divisional round playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last year. Bien-Aime also noted that the Texans have rotated Robinson and Ersery, the Texans second-round draft pick out of Minnesota, during OTAs and it’s not exactly a great early return on a $12 million investment.
Robinson has been in the league a long time but he comes to Houston with plenty of red flags. The 29-year-old was second among offensive tackles with 52 pressures allowed this season and has been prone to meltdown games during his career. He gave up five or more pressures four different times during the regular season including nine in a Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions. He also allowed a whopping 12 pressures in a playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams before coming over to Houston.
The Texans may have believed that Robinson wasn’t a long-term solution, which is why they took Ersery in the draft. While it’s still early, Robinson has to perform better to hold off the rookie and perhaps keep his career going as he heads to a new team.