The Houston Texans held one final practice before Thursday's departure for Los Angeles. Head Coach Lovie Smith gave a few more clues about playing time in the remaining two preseason games, including Friday's game against the L.A. Rams.
Here are three things from Wednesday's Texans Camp practice:
1. Who was in, who was out?
OL Kenyon Green returned to practice and even participated in team drills. The Texans first-round pick missed time due to a concussion but is cleared for practice. His playing time on Friday night, however, remains to be seen.
"Eventually we'll get him out there," Smith said. "The biggest thing was to get him back into the mix. He missed a couple weeks, so we'll gradually get him back into the full-time mix, but no issues, right on track. We'll see how it goes."
DB Tavierre Thomas, TE Pharaoh Brown and LB Kevin Pierre-Louis did not practice due to injury. Thomas will not play against the Rams, according to Smith. Brown missed practice due to hamstring tightness.
2. Preseason reps
Starters like QB Davis Mills will get more playing time this week. In the preseason opener, Mills played just two series while other starters didn't suit up at all. Smith plans to ramp up the rep count by the final preseason game Thursday, Aug. 25 against the San Francisco 49ers.
"As far as the game, we're going to play some of the guys a little bit more, but the third preseason game is when we'll play the guys the most," Smith said. "I'm not going to get into how much every guy is going to play. We'll show up at the game and see that."
3. RB competition heats up
The RB competition is starting to heat up after rookie Dameon Pierce rushed for 49 yards on five carries in the first half. The Texans currently have five running backs on the roster: Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack, Royce Freeman, Dare Ogunbowale and Pierce. With roster cuts underway and two preseason games left, the competition is only getting started.
"I think you let guys play," Smith said. "They kind of tell you who should start, who should be on the roster, how many plays they should get. We've been going through training camp, practice, we've seen a lot, but to see guys finish, I thought that was a big game. Of course, we talked a lot about Dameon (Pierce). Then you have history a little bit, too, on what we've seen from some of the veteran players. It's good competition there. They all have a certain strength, and we'll let it play out."
Honorable mention: Lower Body Attitude (LBA)
Rookie LB Thomas Booker says wants to come out with more "Lower Body Attitude" in games. Booker, who picked up his first career sack against the Saints, coined the phrase and defined it.
Definition of lower body attitude per Booker: "For me, the thing that I do a lot of times is I'll get out low my first step, and then once I get contact, my pads will raise sometimes. So being able to drill myself on being able to keep that lower body attitude in that way, that's what the word means to me. I don't know if there's a formal definition for it. That might have just been a little catch phrase that I just made up."
The Texans will play the Los Angeles Rams in their second preseason game. Kickoff against the Rams is set for Friday at 9 p.m. CT from SoFi Stadium.
