Jaelen Strong ready to "make plays" in 2017

Jaelen Strong is camping for the second time this summer. The third-year wide receiver is in West Virginia with his teammates for training camp at The Greenbrier. But earlier this offseason he was back home Philadelphia putting on a football camp for kids. He enlisted the help of quarterback Tom Savage and receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. When they weren't imparting football knowledge on the campers, they were throwing together and working out in preparation for the 2017 season. For Strong, the time together then has paid dividends through the first week of practice in West Virginia. "Oh yeah, definitely," Strong said. "We worked about two days out there in Philadelphia. It was fun. Tom is from around there. Next year, we’ll probably get (Brian) Cushing out there and he’s from South Jersey, so probably get him out there."Savage agreed with Strong, and called the time together "really beneficial". Strong's season ended prematurely in 2016, as he played his final game in Week 7 at Denver. On the year, he finished with 14 catches for 131 yards. The pain of missing time to injury last year is a motivating factor for 2017. "Just glad to be back out here with my team again after suffering the injury last year," Strong said. "It hurt me bad. Just excited to be back here with the pads on, getting work done with our guys." With Wednesday's injury to Will Fuller, Strong should get more chances to contribute. "Whenever my number gets called and the opportunity approaches itself, I’ve got to step in and make good plays," Strong said. "Whatever I’ve got to do, special teams – whatever Coach is asking me to do, I’ve got to do it. I’m just trying to do whatever I can do help our team win." Strong and the Texans will practice again on Thursday in West Virginia.