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Texans Trade for Nate Thomas After Cowboys' Broderick Jones Move
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- Texans Trade for Nate Thomas After Cowboys' Broderick Jones Move
The Houston Texans aren't getting the player the Dallas Cowboys thought Nate Thomas might become when the offseason began.
They're getting the opportunity to find out whether that player is still in there.
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Back in June, Thomas was competing with former first-round pick Tyler Guyton for Dallas' starting left tackle job. By August, Guyton had taken control of the first-team work, Thomas had moved into the Cowboys' swing-tackle competition and Dallas was still looking outside the organization for help.
That search ended with Broderick Jones arriving from Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Thomas was headed to Houston a day later.
The Texans acquired the 25-year-old tackle for a 2027 seventh-round pick Sunday, a modest price for a player who started four games at left tackle last season and was still being discussed as a possible starter in Dallas a few months ago.
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Whether Thomas can become anything more than depth in Houston ... that's another question.
His first extended NFL opportunity wasn't particularly encouraging. Thomas appeared in all 17 games for Dallas in 2025, but PFF gave him a 39.2 overall grade across 342 offensive snaps, ranking 88th among 89 qualifying tackles. His 31.6 pass-blocking grade ranked last among that group.
Those numbers help explain why Dallas wasn't comfortable simply handing him a bigger role this season.
Thomas still received the opportunity to compete for one.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer opened the left tackle competition between Thomas and Guyton in June, but Guyton remained with the first-team offense once training camp arrived.
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"We talked to Nate and said, 'Nate needs to show us a little bit more consistent play to push for that,'" Schottenheimer said . "And so I know we had told you guys about the rotation, so Tyler [Guyton] will stay at left tackle. Excited to see how Nate handles that challenge. But Tyler's playing really, really well."
Thomas never did enough to change that equation.
He instead spent the remainder of camp working as a swing tackle before Dallas acquired Jones, a former Pittsburgh first-round pick with 38 career starts. With Guyton and Terence Steele expected to start — and Jones suddenly available as another option — Thomas became expendable.
Houston can afford to be more patient.
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Thomas spent his entire 2024 rookie season on injured reserve before finally getting onto the field last year, meaning the Texans are acquiring a player with three years in the NFL ... but only one season of actual game experience. Of his 342 offensive snaps in 2025, 317 came at left tackle.
He also arrives at a useful time. Braden Smith suffered a foot injury during Houston's joint practice with Carolina last week, and the Texans were already reshuffling the back end of their offensive line before the season. Houston also traded Jarrett Patterson to San Francisco on Sunday.
None of that guarantees Thomas a meaningful role.
It does give Houston a relatively inexpensive look at a tackle Dallas once believed had enough upside to challenge a former first-round pick for a starting job.
That opportunity disappeared quickly in Dallas.
For the cost of a seventh-round pick, the Texans get to find out whether it has to stay gone.
