On a daily basis, multiple times per day, Bill O'Brien is asked one common question.
"How's Jadeveon Clowney doing?"
That question comes from a wide range of folks he encounters. But it always comes from O'Brien's 10-year old son, Michael.
"Every night when I get home, he asks me how Clowney's doing," O'Brien said in a recent season ticket holder Town Hall conference call. "This is probably the question that I get asked the most."
The first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft is on the rehab trail after a December microfracture surgery on his right knee. According to O'Brien, the outside linebacker's making solid progress.
"I've been impressed with the way JD's been working," O'Brien said. "He's been out there. He's in early. He's rehabbing. But he's also being able to take part in some of the things that we do in the weight room. He's not able to do all of the things that we do on the field just yet, because of his rehab. But he's on the right track."
After he was selected in the Draft last May, Clowney encountered bad luck with his health.
He underwent surgery for a sports hernia last spring. In August he suffered a concussion during a training camp practice at Denver. Clowney played the first half of the season opener against Washington before exiting with a meniscus injury that required a September surgery. A three-game stint in November followed, and he was placed on the injured reserve because of the microfracture surgery following the Week 12 loss to Cincinnati.
"The key with JD is gonna be, once he's cleared, then he's got to go do it," O'Brien said. "He's a good football player. He's an instinctive player. He understands what we're trying to do in our defense."
O'Brien and the Texans begin OTAs on Tuesday, May 26 at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
