Welcome to another edition of JMA’s Texans mailbag, where each week during the season I answer readers’ Texans questions. To ask a question, send me an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Mailbag question,” message me on social media, or write in your question using the widget below.

It was interesting to see the questions this week focused on the offseason. But the season isn’t over. The Texans have at least two more games left, including the playoffs!

Offensive-line woes have seen C.J. Stroud face an inordinate amount of pressure this season.

Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer

But I get it.

Let’s get to your questions, some of which have been edited for brevity and/or clarity:

Q: What vibes are you getting from the Texans after the 31-2 shellacking by Baltimore? And for the playoffs, might the Texans get that early-season swagger back when they started out the season at 5-1? — Ed Helinski

JMA: Some players are embarrassed. Some were discouraged.

I think they all want to make up for what happened on Christmas against the Ravens.

Coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday that he told everyone to expect to play Sunday, and based on how the game goes, they could rest players in the second half if they have a sizeable lead.

“For us, right now, we’ve got to go play better,” Ryans said. “And our last outing on the field was not good enough, not representative of who we are defensively, offensively, just — it’s not a good representation of our team entirely. So, we’ve got to go out and we’ve got to play better football.”

The Texans want to prove to themselves that they are better than they were last week. And in many ways they should. Consistency and confidence are important in the playoffs.

“It’s on to the next,” left tackle Laremy Tunsil told the Chronicle. “We’ve got to go into Tennessee’s house and we owe them boys.”

Q: Will the NFL schedule any prime-time games for the Texans in 2025 when the best H-Town can offer is a halftime show? Jonathan, as a forever season ticket holder, I have witnessed the Oilers disappointing us in prime time to the Texans now embarrassing us. What is the reason? — Andrew C.

JMA: The Texans were 2-2 in prime-time games this season. They had wins against the Bears and Cowboys, and losses to the Lions and Jets.

If you add in the two most recent games, which were in front of nationally televised audiences but not technically in prime time, they were 2-4 in those games.

Each of those games came with their own set of circumstances, though.

In the game against the Jets, the Texans — who did not have Nico Collins — were not at their best. Playing on a short week for the Thursday night game and having to travel, they looked tired and were struggling with pass protection.

As for the loss against the Lions, Detroit was the better team. The same could be said for Kansas City.

I think the loss to Baltimore was another situation in which the Texans appeared tired on short rest. The Texans also aren’t used to playing a lot of prime-time and nationally-televised games, while the Ravens and Chiefs are. Those two teams are better and were better prepared for it.

I’d imagine next season, Houston won’t have as many games in front of a nationally televised audience as it had this year, given how the Texans finished this season.

Q: I believe the Texans need to make improving the offensive line their priority for next season. How do you believe they should go about doing it? — Ron Colston

JMA: Finding a guard or multiple guards will and should be a priority. And there are two obvious ways: Through the draft and free agency.

That will be sorted out this offseason. I’d expect the Texans to take whichever avenue makes most the economic sense. They don’t have a ton of money to pay a top-tier free agent this offseason unless they restructure some deals. They are projected to have around $12 million in cap space for 2025, which is among the bottom teams in the NFL.

So as of now, the most likely scenario is the Texans target a guard late in the first round or perhaps in the second. They are currently projected to pick No. 19, which is fluid depending on where they finish in the playoffs.

But that could get you a Day 1 starter and one of the best guards in the draft class, given guards rarely go in the top 10 and are pushed down. The Texans could also decide to trade down late in the first.

Two guards currently projected to go in the first round are Alabama’s Tyler Booker and Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson. If the Texans fall in love with one of those guards, I could see them choosing one. It fits their profile. Ryans and Nick Caserio love players who play for high-major schools.

Finding a free agent guard hoping to prove himself is also an option. But a lot of that will depend on finding someone who fits the scheme they want to run next year. And guessing that is an impossible task.

Q: Will Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard be on the trade block this offseason, or are they still considered anchors of that OL? — Derek Hehn 

JMA: No, I don’t see Tunsil being on the trading block. They see Tunsil as one of their most valuable offensive players.

Trading Tunsil wouldn’t make sense when you’d need to replace him if you trade him away. He’s protected C.J. Stroud’s blind side and hasn’t given up many sacks. He had a false-start problem early in the season, but has largely fixed that over the second half of the year. He’s been one of their best offensive players since November began.

As far as Howard goes, I do think it’s possible they part ways with him, whether that’s through a trade or releasing him. Not because of his play. He’s been valuable, too. But because of his contract.

The Texans drafted his future replacement Blake Fisher in the second round last April, and at some point, they’ll want to get him on the field full time.

Howard’s contract, which is currently through the 2026 season, was restructured this offseason to help give themselves some cap relief for the offseason moves they made, including the trade for Stefon Diggs.

So though Howard will count more than $30 million against their cap over the next several years, cutting him or trading him before June 1 could also save them almost $15 million, according to Over the Cap.

The Texans could also extend him to save money, but that would likely require him to play guard, which is not his preference.

Q: When will we get some updates about Tank (Dell)? I understand the need for privacy and maybe there’s no information. But he’s such a fan favorite and everyone is worried about him. — Kasiality

JMA: For that reason. The Texans want to give him privacy. Dell had a serious knee injury, which included a dislocated knee, torn ACL, MCL, LCL and damage to his meniscus.

The last update is that he’s expected to have surgeries soon, and I’d expect that to happen this month.