1. Duane Brown is now the longest tenured Texan
With Andre Johnson gone, Brown is the elder statesman as far as players who have been here their whole career (he's entering his eighth season). His sense of humor is as sharp as ever. When asked about his weight he replied "Do you think I need to get thinner? I thought I looked pretty good. That hurt my feelings, man. I cut my beard off and everything." Brown said he clocked in at 312 and probably needs to add some pounds.
2. One notable departure solidifies an original Texan's record
Chris Myers racked up 112 consecutive starts. Now that he's not here, Chester Pitts can rest easy for a while as he put up a number that should stand for a long time. At 114 consecutive starts, Pitts was an iron man for this team in the first seven-plus years of franchise history.
3. DeAndre Hopkins is now 'The Man'
Hopkins gave a "no comment" when asked about Andre Johnson and pointed out that he felt like he showed some leadership skills last year. As you may recall, Johnson missed the entire offseason as DHop was coming off a promising rookie campaign. Now he has 'new guys' Cecil Shorts and Nate Washington coming in and learning a different system. "I told those guys they could come to me. Coaches are going to help them transition into this offense, but a lot of wide receivers in there look up to me because we don't have 80 here anymore."
4. Houston Loves J.J. Watt and Watt Loves Houston Back
On his feeling after arriving back in town "Just to be back around the fans, to see all the kids, and to see all the Texans jerseys, Texans license plates, and just to be back in Houston. It feels so good. I really do love it here. I think when you go away and you come back, it really shows you how much you really do love it."
5. Vince Wilfork says Bill O'Brien is'fun.'
Wilfork is familiar with O'Brien from his Patriots days. But they were on different sides of the ball. "He brings a smartness to the game." He said. "He's a great offensive minded coach and a great leader. He's a fun coach. The same guy that was in New England, I see here. Just going to the first team meeting, just seeing how happy he is and how fun he is. You could tell why guys want to play for him."
