The Houston Texans returned to the practice field on Tuesday, after an off day on Monday, to sweltering heat, recording “feels like” temperatures, and an unyielding sun with no cloud cover. Unlike all the weekday practices prior to Tuesday, which all started at 9 a.m., DeMeco Ryans chose to start this one at 11:30 a.m., right in the prime of Mother Nature’s heat wrath.
Ryans explained his decision to go with midday sessions after practice:
So with that as the backdrop, here are the things you need to know from Tuesday’s session, the first of three this week, before the New York Giants come to town on Saturday for a noon kickoff at NRG Stadium:
Injury updates and concerns
Relatively speaking, the Houston Texans are a pretty healthy team right now, especially when you see news like Minnesota losing their rookie first round QB J.J. McCarthy to a meniscus tear. The Texans haven’t had anything major like that. The list of players who missed practice on Tuesday goes like this — CB Jeff Okudah (hip), WR Noah Brown (shoulder), TE Teagan Quitoriano (calf), RT Charlie Heck (plantar fasciitis), LB Christian Harris (calf), WR Ben Skowronek, DE Will Anderson Jr. (Ankle), DE Denico Autry, DT Tim Settle (calf).
CB Kamari Lassiter, RT Tytus Howard, and RG Shaq Mason all returned to practice from minor injuries. The most concerning injury of all the ones listed above is Harris’, who practiced for the first time on Sunday, only to head back into the building less than an hour after practice began, with an aggravation of his injury. Harris is a concern because (a) he is one of the team’s best young players, and (b) he plays a position with very little depth.
First team offense fully intact
With the return of LT Laremy Tunsil and RB Joe Mixon on Sunday, and Tytus Howard back at practice on Tuesday, the Texans’ projected starting offense was on the field in 11-on-11 drills for the first time this entire preseason. This is significant. Let’s start with the offensive line, which basically has about three weeks to work together so they can set themselves up for improvement over the lines 2023 performance.
So much of what makes this style of offense successful is chemistry and consistency in the offensive line. With all five starters healthy, they should have a productive ramp up period. Add in Mixon getting carries in 11-on-11, and we at least start to get glimpses of what GM Nick Caserio, HC DeMeco Ryans, and OC Bobby Slowik envision for this group. This is great to see!
Other notes and observations
* This is my 18th Texans training camp as a media member, and C.J. Stroud had a throw that I would put up against any of the thousands I’ve seen during my time covering the team. Early in 11-on-11 team drills, Stroud lofted a perfect deep ball to WR Tank Dell, in between two defensive backs and the sideline. There was literally space to just fit a football into, and that’s it, and Stroud put it right on the money.
* While we’r discussing outstanding Stroud throws, he had another sweet toss over the top of the defense to a streaking TE Brevin Jordan for what would have been, at worst, a big gain, and maybe a touchdown. Jordan is a real wild card, in a good way, for this offense. When he’s out there, he’s been dangerous since the latter part of 2023.
* In general, Stroud tossing this little 8 to 10 yard out routes to Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins are just too easy and indefensible, and I’m glad it’s my team and my quarterback throwing them.
* The battle to back up Joe Mixon at running back is shaping up to be one of the most interesting storylines down the stretch in this camp. Dameon Pierce, whose performance was lacking in punch on Friday, had a couple really nice runs on Tuesday, including a sweet juke in traffic to free himself up for a big chunk gain. Meanwhile, veteran Cam Akers, who’s clearly outshined Pierce in game action thus far, had another trademark spin out of a tackle and sprint upfield for a nice gain.
* The Texans practice Wednesday (10:45 a.m.) and Thursday (11:15 a.m.) this week, and are off Friday, before Saturday’s noon kickoff at NRG Stadium against the Giants.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
