WALK THE LINE

Here's why the Texans o-line is still a bit of a mystery

New Houston Texans offensive lineman, Marcus Cannon, spoke with the Houston media on Monday and answered some questions about what his role will be on the team. Unfortunately for Texans fans, we didn't learn much about where Cannon will be lining up when the season begins. Will he be playing right tackle, or will it be Tytus Howard?

We did learn that Cannon prefers playing tackle

Cannon did admit that he has the most fun playing right tackle, but he's willing to play wherever the Texans need him. Cannon said the Patriots asked him to learn multiple positions, so he's more than happy to play guard or tackle for Houston. Regardless of whether Cannon plays tackle or guard, he's a good bet to be playing next to former Texans first round pick, Tytus Howard. Which should be a nice improvement on the right side of the Texans o-line.

When the media asked Howard if he knew what his job would be on the team, Cannon responded by saying, "I don't know what my role is going to be." He also said he doesn't know how much he'll be playing or which position he'll be asked to play. He hasn't been with the team for long, so Houston will have plenty of time to figure out where the best spot is for him. The Texans starters on the o-line could look like this, LT Laremy Tunsil, LG Max Sharping, C Justin Britt, RG Marcus Cannon, and RT Tytus Howard. But Sharping showed some regression last year, and Britt and Cannon just joined the team, so plenty of things could change before the season begins.

During his session with the media, Cannon said he has spoken with some of his teammates and coaches, and found head coach David Culley to be very motivating. Marcus also talked about being very excited about having the chance to play professional football in Texas, since he has Texas ties and played his college ball at TCU.

The bright spot of the offseason?

The trade for Marcus Cannon is interesting because this could turn out to be the best move of the offseason for Houston. Cannon started at tackle for the Patriots during 3 of their Super Bowl winning seasons. Cannon will be 33 years old when the 2021 season begins, but should be fully rested and healthy after opting out of the 2020 season with concerns about COVID. Cannon was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the 2011 NFL Combine, and earned the Ed Block Courage award after making a full recovery.

Be sure to check out Cannon's interview in the video above for more information.

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That's five straight losses for Houston. Composite Getty Image.

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Chicago Cubs swept the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.

Nico Hoerner had three hits and Mike Tauchman went 1 for 1 with three walks as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Hayden Wesneski (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win in relief of Javier Assad.

Houston has lost a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall. At 7-19, it is off to its worst 26-game start since it was 6-20 in 1969.

First-year manager Joe Espada was ejected by plate umpire Jansen Visconti in the top of ninth.

Crow-Armstrong was recalled from Triple-A Iowa when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with two fractured ribs. The 22-year-old outfielder, who is considered one of the team’s top prospects, made his big league debut last year and went 0 for 14 while appearing in 13 games.

He picked a perfect time for his first major league hit.

Houston had a 1-0 lead before Dansby Swanson scampered home on a fielder’s choice grounder for Miguel Amaya in the sixth.

Espada then replaced Rafael Montero with Bryan Abreu, who threw a wild pitch with Crow-Armstrong trying to sacrifice Amaya to second. Crow-Armstrong then drove his next pitch deep to right, delighting the crowd of 29,876 at Wrigley Field.

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