Trent Brown: Everything you need to know

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports that Brown is recovering well from an ankle injury that prevented him from playing in the Texans' AFC divisional-round loss to the Patriots in mid-January. Brown missed time toward the tail end of the 2025 season due to ankle and knee injuries. He's progressed enough in his recovery to start lifting weights at the Texans' facility and could be available for the start of offseason programming. Brown started at right tackle in all 13 regular-season games he appeared in last year, but he'll likely operate in a reserve role in 2026 after Houston signed Braden Smith to a two-year, $25 million contract Tuesday.

Brown (ankle) re-signed Thursday with the Texans on a one-year contract worth up to $7 million, per his agent Drew Rosenhaus, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Brown was limited to seven appearances in the 2025 regular season, returned for the wild-card round but sat out due to an ankle injury as the Texans were eliminated in the AFC divisional round. The veteran offensive tackle will return to the Texans for his age-33 season, and Brown's expected to reprise his role as the team's starting right tackle when healthy.

Brown (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's divisional-round matchup versus the Patriots. Brown dealt with a pair of ankle and knee injuries over the last few weeks, and he was sidelined for the final two games of the regular season. The 32-year-old suited up and started Monday's wild-card win over the Steelers, but he popped back up with an ankle issue, which will keep him out versus New England. In his stead, Tytus Howard will likely move over to start at right tackle while Jarrett Patterson fills in at left guard.