Duane Brown was all smiles in the locker room after practice Thursday. After missing two games this season, the All-Pro left tackle was a full-go at practice.
"I am happy," Brown said. "I feel great, man. I feel great. It was a really good feeling to go out there and go full speed, take a lot of reps. It felt good."
Brown has been dealing with a strained toe he suffered in the Texans' home opener against Tennessee on September 15. Brown was in a walking boot until September 26, when he participated in practice for the first time since his injury, but was not quite ready to return.
"It just didn't feel as good as I thought it would," Brown said. "Moving around when you are out there on your own, felt pretty good just moving around but then when it came time to try and drive, block, and things like that, it just didn't feel quite as strong as I thought it would. So, we just wanted to take it easy and be sure."
Brown was inactive for Sunday's game against Seattle. His main concern was coming back too early from the injury or worse, re-injuring it and requiring surgery.
"I wanted to be confident in going out there and playing on it and know I could play like myself and not feel like I'm less of a player on it so I had to be careful," Brown said.
Now with another week of rest, Brown feels ready to play at San Francisco. While he may still have some lingering effects, Brown no longer has the constant pain that he had before.
"Game-time is going to be different but I don't think anybody is ever playing at 100-percent," Brown said. "Very rarely, at this point in the season, are people really 100-percent. You know, you're going to deal with something but as long as you're productive while you're out there, then I think that's all that matters."
The Texans will face San Francisco on Sunday, October 6 with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 CT.
