The Houston Texans were back at work for Texans Camp, their last open practice in front of fans. Texans Legends were also on hand to watch the 2022 squad at work. On Thursday, the team will practice in the evening inside NRG Stadium for their final practice heading into the preseason opener.
Here are five things from Day 10 of training camp:
1. Cooking up some fun
Fans got to enjoy some new Texans concessions, courtesy of Chair and CEO Cal McNair who was grilling up some burgers and hotdogs after practice.
Some of his other customers included Head Coach Lovie Smith and former Texan Vince Wilfork.
2. Injury updates
RB Darius Anderson was not at Wednesday's practice. He suffered a non-contact knee injury in Tuesday's practice and will undergo surgery. Head coach Lovie Smith described the entire situation as "tough."
"We feel for Darius (Anderson)," Smith said. "He's a good football player, has been through a little bit. A guy that showed up every day, was doing some good things. We had a plan for him. Unfortunately, injuries are part of our game. It's just pretty much a non-contact injury that happened. He's in good spirits right now. He'll get surgery and come back strong as ever."
LB Garret Wallow also missed practice and is dealing with an ankle injury suffered on Tuesday. Rookies Christian Harris and Kenyon Green are both still out as well dealing with injuries.
3. No-fly zone
DB Jonathan Owens, who has been having a strong showing at camp this year, had back-to-back pass breakups in the endzone on would-be touchdown catches in team drills. After leaping up to deflect a pass away from TE Pharaoh Brown, who has a good seven inches of height on him, Owens then did the same on the next play to WR Chris Conley.
"Since I've been here I've liked Jonathan (Owens)," Smith said. "He was one of our starting safeties at the end of last year. I can vividly recall him playing well against the Chargers. That's the Jonathan Owens I know. He's been in the building every day the building is open. He's going to help us win a lot of ball. He fits the profile of what we're looking for at the safety position."
4. "Starting" lineups
Speaking of Owens, he is currently listed as a starter in this week's depth chart for Saturday's preseason game against the New Orleans Saints. Also listed as starters are rookies Jalen Pitre and Derek Stingley, Jr. Smith said not to read too much into the depth chart, which was drafted weeks ago.
"The depth chart was released yesterday," Smith said. "They told us we had to release the depth chart. From me to you, we wrote some guys down right now based on not finishing a drill in training camp. Once we get to preseason games, that's when the depth chart will mean a little bit. Right now, we have a little depth rotation and kind of go from there. Don't put too much into the depth chart just yet."
5. Brandin Cooks
Brandin Cooks continues to make gorgeous catches every day in practice and his 1-on-1 matchups with the secondary are must-see battles. In Wednesday's practice, Davis Mills connected with Cooks on a long 30-plus yard bomb while driving down the field in team drills. Kyle Allen finished the series, but Cooks did come back later to score another touchdown during some situational work in team drills.
The Texans will open their preseason at home against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. CT.
