Duane Brown is "eating more".
The Texans left tackle is bulking up, healthily, this offseason after going into 2013 lighter than he normally played.
"I lost about 12 to 15 pounds," Brown said on Friday morning after a community event in West University. "I lost a lot of weight last year and I'm off that. So I'm staying pretty big these days. Always eating healthy, just eating more of it."
Brown is listed on the current team roster at 303 pounds. Along with the rest of the Texans last fall, the 2012 All-Pro wasn't pleased with how he performed.
"I set the bar for myself pretty high," Brown said. "I don't think I quite played up to my potential last year."
To that end, the 2-time Pro Bowler said he's hoping to make 2014 the best of his 7-year NFL career.
"I'm trying to make this the best offseason of my career," Brown said. "I want to make next year the best season of my career. We're all trying to do our part to have a succesfull year next year."
Brown has also met with head coach Bill O'Brien, and offensive line coach Paul Dunn. He said the new coaching staff and the players share in the enthusiasm for better things in the coming season. With the weight he'll put back on for 2014, Brown believes he'll improve over 2013.
"I was quicker. I was faster. But on that edge, you have to be able to anchor. I wasn't able to anchor those first couple of games. I think this year I'll be a lot stronger than I was," Brown said.
The added weight in 2014 will be one thing to watch about the left tackle's game. Another aspect which he didn't mention, though, was health. Brown was inactive in Weeks 3 and 4 because of a toe injury he suffered in the Week 2 win over Tennessee. Missing that pair of contests snapped a streak in which he'd started 78 consecutive games.
A toe that's healed, along with playing back at a weight he was accustomed to, are promising developments for a return to form by Brown.
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