HOUSTON – The Texans have agreed to terms on a four-year, $19.276 million contract with first-round draft pick Keylan ‘Big Red’ Rutledge, per a league source.
Drafted 26th overall, Rutledge, a massive offensive lineman from Georgia Tech where he was an All-American blocker, receives a $10.479 million signing bonus.
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Rutledge is represented by Priority Sports.
Rutledge has the versatility to play center or offensive guard. He has played a lot of center with the first-team offense so far, snapping to starting quarterback C.J. Stroud. He is known for his nasty streak. So far, the Texans are very pleased with his assimilation to the NFL and his flexibility positionally.
Rutledge was acquired by the Texans after trading up to the Buffalo Bills’ original first-round pick at 26th overall in exchange for a trade that nets them the 91st overall selection. They sent the Bills the 28th overall, 69th overall in the third round and 167th overall in the fifth round selections.
Why did the Texans draft Rutledge and have such a strong conviction about the third-team All-American and first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection? A hard-nosed mentality, and a pile of bodies he left on the ground with a series of punishing blocks.
“The things that stand out about him, toughness, violence, physicality, his playing style, his intelligence,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “Basically, the guy wants to step on your throat on every play, which I would say sort of embodies what our football team is about, the way we play.
“Intense, violent, physical. We’re going to run the football this year. It was an area that we felt like we wanted to and needed to improve on during the offseason. Hopefully, we’ve done that.”
Georgia Tech coach Brent Key called him the best offensive lineman he’s ever coached and the toughest player he’s worked with.
Key told KPRC 2 he believes that Rutledge can be an All-Pro center one day.
Rutledge tries to embody that serious approach to the game every snap he takes.
“It’s just who I want to be as a football player,” Rutledge said. “You want to be tough. You want to be relentless. You want to punch somebody in the face. You want to set the tone, and I think that’s what I do.
“That’s what I’m gonna bring every day. I control what I can control and that’s how hard I play, how I finish, how I strain, how detailed I am. I think that comes with toughness, how you push through things when you don’t feel right. That’s what I bring to Houston.”
Rutledge recently worked out privately in Georgia for Texans offensive line coach and run game coordinator Cole Popovich, per a league source.
The Texans were intrigued by the physicality and serious approach of Rutledge throughout the draft process. The recent private workout conducted shortly before the draft reinforced their strong feelings about him as a player and person, per a league source.
“Him getting down here to Georgia Tech and just working me out, obviously you go out there and try to put your best foot forward,” Rutledge said. “Show him who you are. Obviously, he’s watched so much tape, so he already knows, right? But just put me through some movement stuff, seeing how I move.
“He’s just honestly coaching me up, man, you know, telling me like, ‘Hey, this is how, if you came to Houston, this is how we would do things, how we’re gonna throw punches. I’m just just soaking it up, trying to be a sponge, trying to learn from that guy. Man, obviously he knows what he’s doing, and I really had good feedback. I knew he liked me.”
Now, Rutledge is a Texan as he joins an overhauled line that includes left tackle Aireontae Ersery, left guard Wyatt Teller, center Jake Andrews, right guard Ed Ingram, right tackle Braden Smith and former Pro Bowl swing tackle Trent Brown.
“Physical, tough, strong, good run blocker, good at the point of attack, probably more athletic than people think he is,” Caserio said. “He’s got some technique things that he can certainly clean up. The makeup on this guy is elite. I think ‘Big Red’ who he is is emblematic in what you saw tonight. Basically, the guy was in an Airbnb with his wife and that was pretty much it.
“You see some of these other draft parties, it’s like a circus. This guy is all ball. He’s all football. Doesn’t really care about anything else. Wants to punch people in the mouth. Yep, that works here. That’s what you see on tape, which is part of the intrigue with the player.”
A Middle Tennessee State transfer, Rutledge is 6-foot-4, 316 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 5.05 seconds. He tested consistently in training in 4.9 seconds.
He was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection at right guard two seasons ago and a third-team All-American last season and all-conference again.
He is known for his power, strength, technique and gritty style.
The Texans didn’t have to move far or give up much to acquire Rutledge. The Texans didn’t want to take any chance of losing out on a player they love. Another league source said there was an actual threat, though, that they could potentially lose out on Rutledge within the AFC South. The Tennessee Titans were trying to move ahead of the Texans with the intention of drafting Rutledge, per a league source. The Texans wanted Rutledge throughout the draft process, per sources.
“Moving two spots was more of positioning that anything else,” Caserio said. “We felt like there could potentially be some interest in the player, so we felt like: ‘Alright, let’s move a couple of spots.’”
Rutledge won the Atlantic Coast Conference Brian Piccolo Award as the conference’s most courageous player, in recognition of overcoming serious injuries sustained in a automobile accident in December 2023.
Rutledge nearly had to have his foot amputated, but overcame the injury and got back to playing football again at a high level.
“It’s just a blessing, obviously, going through that car wreck when it could have been a lot, lot worse,” Rutledge said. “God had his hand with me. What happened to the foot that wasn’t a good deal, and then obviously, getting infected. When you get a bone infection, it’s a chance that they’re gonna cut it off. And that’s not good. God was just with me the whole time.
“Obviously, I battled back and found a way to get out there, and once, I found a way out there, two years of film and now we’re here. Just so blessed to be able to have this opportunity, and God’s been so gracious to me. I’m ready to get after it.”
He started all 13 games at right guard and did not allow a sack and surrendered just six quarterback hurries in 872 snaps in 2025.
Texans assistant general manager James Liipfert scouted Rutledge extensively throughout the fall and draft process. Liipfert is a former Georgia Tech linebacker who was a finalist for the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager job and is regarded in NFL circles as a future NFL general manager.
“James does a good job,” Caserio said. “I think the scouting group does a phenomenal job, the pro staff, the college staff. Essentially when we were going through the draft, we were looking at each team, ‘Okay, what are their needs? What do we think they’re going to do?’ Whoever had that team had an answer in a heartbeat. Honestly, it played out exactly the way I thought.
“I have a lot of respect and appreciation for our group. They work really, really hard. They take a lot of pride. They care. They’re informed. They understand their teams and they provide incredible information so that ultimately, we can make good decisions for the organization. That’s the most important thing.”
Rutledge could challenge center Jake Andrews for a starting job. He has played some center, including at the Senior Bowl all-star game.
Teller signed a two-year, $23 million contract this offseason. The Texans could take their time with Rutledge, too.
“I’m comfortable at all three,” Rutledge said. “Honestly, obviously you’re most comfortable at right guard, because that’s what I played, kind of as a freshman, started there and just stuck there through all the years, but right side to left side. Obviously, it’s an adjustment.
“At center, man, I’m so comfortable with it, because coach Key always told me: ‘Hey, you have to play all three at the next level. You never know where they’re gonna put you at. I was kind of the emergency guy senior year. Senior Bowl, taking snaps, 100% confident that I can do that point out the Mike, have everybody on the same page. I can play all three.”
His best spot, though, is right guard where Ingram is currently deployed after signing a three-year, $37.5 million contract extension in March.
“We’ll see,” Caserio said. “He’ll probably play wherever he needs to play. I’d say all three inside guys, you’ve got some guys that are center only, some guys that are guard only, some guys that can play all three spots.
“We’ll see how it goes. Where is he going to play? We’ll see. Nobody knows. We’ll figure that out as we go.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com