NFL training camps are roughly a week away for most teams, bringing heat, positional battles, injured players attempting returns and rookies taking their first full measures as professionals. Camps will offer early answers that could matter from the regular-season opener on Sept. 9 through the Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day.
Several clubs enter camp with specific, high-profile questions. The Houston Texans, after an active offseason along the offensive line, still lack clarity about their starting five, according to Ben Solak. The team traded for Browns guard Wyatt Teller, signed offensive tackle Braden Smith and used a late first-round pick on Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge.
Practical alignment remains unsettled. Second-year Aireontae Ersery is slated at left tackle and Ed Ingram is entrenched at right guard, which would push Teller — a career right guard — to the left. Rutledge is the leading candidate to move to center, where Jake Andrews is still on the roster. Braden Smith, coming off neck surgery, must fend off Trent Brown for the right tackle spot. Solak noted the Texans added depth, including fourth-round pick Febechi Nwaiwu, even after dealing away players such as Juice Scruggs and Tytus Howard, but the final configuration will be determined in camp.
The Philadelphia Eagles face their own big questions on offense with two familiar fixtures absent, Solak wrote. Wide receiver A.J. Brown is no longer in Philadelphia; from 2022 to 2025 Brown accounted for 32.6% of the team’s receiving yards and only Tyreek Hill and Puka Nacua posted higher yards per route run. Brown served as a safety valve for quarterback Jalen Hurts against man coverage.
Also gone is long-time offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who had been with the team since 2013. The Eagles’ line, banged up last season, will be asked to adapt to new coordinator Sean Mannion’s under-center, play-action, motion-heavy approach — a system that reporting has contrasted with Hurts’ historical preference for more static schemes. Solak emphasized that both Brown and the offensive line were major factors in the Eagles’ recent success.
