TRADE! Texans acquire OL Shaq Mason from Buccaneers

The Houston Texans are picking right up where they left off on the second day of free agency.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Texans are fortifying their offensive line.

The #Bucs are trading veteran guard Shaq Mason to the #Texans, per source.

According to Pelissero’s NFL Network colleague Ian Rapoport, the price was light to acquire Mason.

It’s a late-round pick swap, a 6th rounder for a 7th rounder, in the trade of Shaq Mason.

Mason, who turns 30 in August, was a fourth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, and Texans general manager Nick Caserio was the director of pro player personnel for the Pats at the time.

Mason was the starting guard in New England for seven years, starting in two Super Bowl victories for the Patriots. This past season, Mason followed his former teammate Tom Brady down south to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he started all 17 games for the team.

Now, with Brady gone, the Bucs appear to be rebuilding, which means parting ways with some veterans on the team, including Mason.

The Texans are adding a durable, experienced guard to the offensive line to compete alongside Kenyon Green and A.J. Cann for a starting role. Green, a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has to be part of the teams long-term plans more than Cann, a 31-year-old entering the final year of his contract.