Less than 24 hours after their season concluded in a road loss to the Chiefs, the Texans were back at NRG Stadium cleaning out their lockers.
The players and coaches met one last time as a team, and then went on to do a slew of other things.
"Big player day here," head coach Bill O'Brien explained. "Exit physicals, exit meetings, all of those different things."
Each player meets with O'Brien individually, and also spends time with his respective position coach as well. They go through a final physical of the season with medical and training staff, and clean out their lockers. A journey that began with offseason conditioning in April of 2019, finished on this mid-January afternoon. The Texans, like all NFL teams, have a slew of free agents. The 2020 53-man roster will look a bit differently than the one that ended 2019, as veteran outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus pointed out Monday morning.
"A lot of guys won't be here," Mercilus said. "A lot of guys will be here. It's just the nature of the business."
Rookie right tackle Tytus Howard started eight games in 2019 before going on the injured reserve. As he rehabs from a leg injury, Howard looks forward to getting back to form, and also having a little more free time. Last winter and spring was spent preparing for the Combine and the NFL Draft.
"I can't take too much time off, because I've got to get back," Howard said. "It'll be a little bit better though."
The Texans won't reunite as a team until April, when offseason conditioning begins.
The Houston Texans are warmed up and ready to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2019 NFL Playoffs. The Texans pregame photos are presented by Gatorade.
