The Houston Texans, in the middle of a three-day stretch with pads, practiced on Saturday at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
Pleasantly and cooler temperatures turned into a summer rainstorm near the end of practice, setting it apart from the rest of camp days. Overall, Head Coach Lovie Smith was pleased with the work the team has put in through these first seven days of work.
Here are four things to know from Day 7 of camp:
1. Talking 'bout preseason
The Texans are exactly one week away from their first preseason game. Head Coach Lovie Smith hasn't finalized who will play, but he does plans to hold some players out of Saturday's preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.
"We're not quite there yet," Smith said. "All of our players won't play I'll say that, the first preseason game. We still haven't determined of course how much. A lot of times when guys are coming off a major injury, we may wait a little bit, but we'll decide that as much as anything for (Derek) Stingley. You see he's out here practicing every day. He's right on schedule."
2. Who was out?
Rookie linebacker Christian Harris, who has shined in camp and OTAs, did not practice on Saturday as he was dealing with an injury.
3. RB squad
The running backs all got into the mix for team drills. Smith appears to be mixing and matching backs like rookie Dameon Pierce, Marlon Mack and Darius Anderson in first and second team reps.
"Coming into camp, we had numbered six guys we liked, nothing's changed," Smith said. "Each day one guy may flash a little bit more than others. We're going to play them in the preseason games. They are getting ready. You mentioned Dameon Pierce, he's done some good things throughout. He had a couple good runs today but I'm going to say that about most of the guys."
4. Ready for the Year 2 leap
TE Brevin Jordan is among the 2021 draft class, which consists of QB Davis Mills, WR Nico Collins, LB Garret Wallow and Roy Lopez. The group made a collective 38 starts last season and is hungry for more.
"I mean, I'm excited," Jordan said. "Just the opportunity that all five of us have to come in and contribute, the other four they contribute right away, so for all of us to develop and have that chip on our shoulders, we know that. This team, they are counting on us to make plays. I'm excited for all of us."
Honorable mention: Welcome back, abs
Jordan's body composition changed this offseason, thanks in part to a better diet. The second-year TE says he lost body fat and says he has abs that he hasn't seen since he played basketball in seventh grade.
"I'm a fat kid, honestly," Jordan said. "I'm a fat kid so give me some Cane's, In-N-Out Burger, McDonald's, all of it. I just had to cut it all out. I was 21 years old eating like a child. So just being at a pro level, you can't eat like that because you come out here and feel it."
The Texans will open the regular season at home against the Colts on Sunday, Sept. 11. Browse tickets here!
