HOUSTON – Wyatt Teller has plied his trade in the National Football League for eight years, a book of business built on knocking people down and stonewalling pass rushers.
He paved pathways for the Cleveland Browns’ touchdown runs, and provided precious time for quarterbacks to find their downfield targets.
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Any review of Teller tape displays a trail of fallen bodies, a capable and willing puller and plenty of displays of athleticism to reach the second level and block linebackers and defensive backs.
Now, the former All-Pro offensive guard plans to reset his career with a similar retooled approach and strategy after joining the Texans on a two-year, $23 million maximum value contract.
“However I can help coming and playing at the best I can be,” Teller said. “Getting back to what I am good at, being that nasty, gritty player. There was a couple plays in this past year, where there are glimpses of it, but being that consistent player again. All-Pro, Pro Bowl player that can help the Texans win.”
Teller represents a key piece of the Texans’ promised reboot of their offensive line along with the arrival of veteran right tackle Braden Smith on a two-year, $25 million deal and retaining right guard Ed Ingram on a three-year, $37.5 million contract. They traded versatile offensive lineman Tytus Howard to the Browns largely for financial reasons one year after trading five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders.
The new projected starting line: left tackle Aireontae Ersery, Teller at the left guard spot he started at as a rookie for the Buffalo Bills, Jake Andrews at center, possibly with competition for his job from Evan Brown or a rookie, with Ingram and Smith on the right side. Former Pro Bowl selection Trent Brown is back as the swing tackle.
The investment in the line includes a $5.75 million signing bonus for Teller, $8.5 million total guaranteed, annual $500,000 per game active roster bonuses and incentives, negotiated by veteran agent Andy Ross of Upper Edge Sports.
And the arrival of Teller, a former All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection in Cleveland, was aided by the recruiting skills of quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Teller and his family first met Stroud at a Pro Athlete Outreach annual seminar a year ago in Dana Point, California. Teller and his wife, Carly, ran into Stroud this year at the same conference on the East Coast.
“Just getting to talk to him, it was like he was recruiting me and recruiting my wife,” Teller said. “Really, he was just saying wherever you go I know you are going to have success and everything like that but I would love for you to block for me. Just being an enforcer and protecter of him.
“When he is healthy, I don’t know many teams that can beat the Houston Texans. If I can help in any way, not that I need to be Superman or anything like that but just get back to what I am good at and protect my quarterbacks and running backs.”
For the Teller family, moving to Texas was something apparently anticipated by their young son, Brooks.
After a hunting trip in Texas, Carly Teller asked Brooks where his father would be playing next in the NFL. He had a strong feeling
“The Texans,” Teller said. “I said, ‘Brooks, how do you even know who the Texans are? What?’ That is a real video from January. I think he said two teams and it was the Texans and then he said the Browns. I said, ‘Buddy, I don’t think I’m going to be on the Browns next year. That’s good that you know the team that dad plays for.’
“He was all-out on the Texans. I just thought that that was, being a man of faith, it was like, ‘Wait, do you know something that I don’t know?’ Maybe he is Nostradamus, who knows? He said that and here we are two or three months later. I’m a Texan and it’s like, ‘Whoa, maybe he knows something.”
Teller, 31, welcomes the shift back to left guard, where he played collegiately at Virginia Tech, after playing right guard for the Browns opposite All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio. Playing on the left side represents a new challenge for Teller.
“It is like writing with your write hand then learning to write with your left hand,” Teller said. “You can learn it, but it is going to take some time. You are going to have to relearn. I am not kicking with my right foot back anymore I am going to be kicking back with my left foot. If we are working against one technique or something like that, naturally your post foot drops back. It is not like I haven’t been in a left-handed stance or left guard pass protecting stance for too long.
“I was talking to Ethan Pocic and he was like, ‘Wyatt, I think you are going to make this transition easy.’ Just the wear and tear of football, I feel like so long I have been throwing that right hand that now I can use that left hand with a strong catch hand. It is not like my left hand isn’t strong, I am just saying it is usually a little different. It is going to be a little weird putting my left hand on the ground at first, but football is a weird sport in general. It is all going to work out.”
Three years after the Browns were blown out by the Texans in an AFC wild-card round playoff game at NRG Stadium, Teller is now a Texan.
Teller, who missed a combined eight games the past two seasons and Teven Jenkins rotated in for him a lot last season due to a calf injury, allowed three sacks and a 9.8 percent quarterback pressure rate last season, per Next Gen Stats.
Teller wants to get back to his old All-Pro blocking form.
“I feel like the last two years in Cleveland have been tough,” Teller said. “We went through a lot of growing pains, through quarterbacks and running backs. Personally, I think there was some good ball out there, but there was also some stuff that I could have gotten better at or been better at. Getting away from that run game hurt my heart as an offensive lineman. Passing the ball 70 percent of the time is never good for anybody. In Houston, this team is extremely talented.
“Not that I haven’t been on a talented team, but I don’t think there is anybody like the guys who can fly on the edge. Just joining that culture and joining that team is going to be special. I don’t think I have ever heard a stadium that loud when we were playing the Texans in Houston. Just being a part of a great culture and just helping where Coach asks me. If we run the ball, we run the ball and bring grit and toughness. If we pass the ball, we pass the ball effectively and protect C.J.”
Ultimately, Teller was convinced that the Texans were the right spot for him. He got to meet coach DeMeco Ryans when he was in town to sign his contract and offensive line coach and run game coordinator Cole Popovich, who’s been instrumental in the improvement of the pass protection last season. Stroud was sacked a career-high 23 times last season.
Teller has a familiarity with guard-center Evan Brown, a former teammate and he met with Ingram at team headquarters.
“Unbelievable culture that I wanted to be a part of,” Teller said. “I got to meet Ed Ingram. What an awesome dude, hard worker. He’s a big and strong, powerful guy. Pop, I got to talk to him for a little bit and he’s a hard guy, but I feel like that’s what you need and I feel like that is what’s going to get me back to playing at the level that I know I can play at and helping in any way I can.
“I know that coach is going to work us and make sure that we’re getting it right. But first impression was he seems like he’s out here to make you the best player you can be and I appreciate that. It’s kind of like when I had [former Browns offensive line] coach [Bill] Callahan. I could drive a guy down 20 yards with one hand and pancake them and he’d be like, ‘Well, that’s cool. Why didn’t you get the safety?’ Really being consistent and that nitty-gritty player that, that’s going to help the Texans win.”
And Teller hopes to impart knowledge and provide mentoring to younger players. He’s one of the older players on the roster.
“If you want to win that championship, it takes more than just what coach is going to give you and the strength staff is going to give you,” Teller said. “It’s the time that you spend together. Anything coach needs I am willing to help and do whatever it takes to win on a team that already has that great culture and winning atmosphere. It was already an unbelievable team that was playing into the playoffs last year that was a couple of plays away from a championship.
“The pieces that they’ve added, it feels like it was really good roster moves and everything like that which speaks so highly of people want to be on a winning team. Iron sharpens iron. I truly believe that. Playing against that defensive front every day in and day out and the hot summer blistering heat in Houston is going to make us tough."
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com