When T Tytus Howard was in high school at Monroe County in Alabama, he played quarterback.

He aspired to play in college and walked on at Alabama State, transitioning to tight end. After a series of injuries occurred, and his coaches asked Howard to serve as an emergency lineman. The next game two of his teammates were injured and Howard took the field on the offensive line. The next day following the game, there were knee braces at Howard's locker.

"I actually did so good in the game they were like, 'Hey, you're gonna move to the offensive line,'" Howard said.

Howard was hesitant at first to move to the offensive line. However, his former offensive line coach Prince Pearson shared that Howard would be put on scholarship and gave him a simple message.

"He came to me and he was like, 'Just buy in. I'm telling you, I'll make you a first-round pick,'" Howard recalled. "And I eventually bought in and I became the first first-round pick in school history."

The Texans drafted Howard with the 23^rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent his first seven years in league with Houston, starting all 93 games played. With the Texans, he helped protect two quarterbacks that earned Pro Bowl honors in Deshaun Watson (2019-20) and C.J. Stroud (2023). In 2024, he helped open holes for RB Joe Mixon, who was selected to the Pro Bowl. In 2019, Howard was selected to the PFWA All-Rookie team.

After seven seasons with the Texans, Howard joins his second team after the Browns traded for Howard at the beginning of free agency as they work to re-shape their offensive line. For Howard, the opportunity to be a part of a new offensive line, as well as the young talent on the team, was intriguing to him.

"You got a lot of young pieces. If you watch the tape and saw Cleveland last year, they were in a lot of games. And I feel like by me coming here and some other guys who were brought in coming here, us being able to protect and open some lanes up front, we can help the team get to the next hump," Howard said. "The core pieces are already here. You just got to add a couple more and this team can be a really good team."

He helped make the pitch to C/G Elgton Jenkins, who also signed with the Browns during free agency. The two had first met at the Senior Bowl before they were drafted and developed a friendship. Over the years, Howard hoped the two would have the opportunity to play together in the league. When that possibility surfaced, he called Jenkins.

"I basically told him this is a chance for me and you to stamp the Cleveland Browns' offensive line, to change the scenery, change how everyone looks at the offensive line," Howard said. "With me and him being the two older guys in the room, you get a chance to pour a lot into the young guys, and get this line going because him, like myself, he played every position on the offensive line. So, I'm looking forward to picking his brain about stuff that he may have learned that he can help me out with or something I can help him out with it."

Howard also has previous relationships not only with QB Deshaun Watson, who he played with while in Houston, and Browns new offensive line coach George Warhop – who was the offensive line coach with the Texans in 2022.

Howard said Warhop's attention to detail about technique and play style are traits that differentiate him as an offensive line coach. He also knows that Warhop will bring consistency in his coaching methods every single day to all of his players.

"Being able to play for him, I know what I'm going to get every day," Howard said. "I know that he's going to bring the best out of me and require the best out of me. So, being able to come here with a coach like that and I still want to get better every day. I still want to develop to be the best player I can be, and I know that with him as my coach, I knew that if I came to Cleveland, I'm going to get that every day, and I know I'm going to get better."

As the Browns re-build their offensive line, Howard believes he will predominately play at right tackle. He has experience playing at different positions on the offensive line, as he was originally drafted as a left tackle to Houston before he moved to right tackle during his second season. He also started games at right tackle, left guard and right guard during the 2025 season.

Howard said playing at different positions helped slow down the game for him and view the game differently. When he was switching positions, he started watching more film, not only of who he would be matched up against, but also of the entire line to understand the whole picture. He studied different types of players and saw how defensive fronts flipped depending on the position he played, which encouraged him to focus on the small tendencies of defensive linemen. Through that film study, Howard said he can see blitzes, alignments and the tendencies of players faster, which has proved beneficial over the course of his seven-year NFL career.

With that experience, he feels prepared to be a mentor to younger players at different positions across the line while he plays at right tackle.

"Right tackle is what I played ever since I transitioned to offensive line," Howard said. "I played offensive line for two years in college, and when I moved from tight end, I started playing right tackle first. And so that's the position that stuck with me. […] I feel like when I'm at right tackle, I play my best. And my job and the reason Cleveland brought me here is to be my best."