Jadeveon Clowney was noticeably absent from the Texans locker room this week. After undergoing microfracture knee surgery on Monday, Clowney was placed on Injured Reserve on Wednesday.
Texans players have been in touch with Clowney. On Wednesday, several shared their reactions to the news of the rookie outside linebacker's surgery and recovery.
"We've talked a good amount," Brian Cushing said. "Mostly just telling him to keep his head up and try and stay as upbeat as he possibly can because you get down on yourself, especially early in your career when you're eager to prove yourself. He's got a lot of football left ahead of him so he's just got to be smart."
"It's very unfortunate and I feel for him," Duane Brown said. "I've had a chance to talk to him quite a bit and I know how hard he works and how much he really wants to be great and help this team out. I just told him it's a part of the game and it's very unfortunate that it's happened to him so early in his career, but he has a long road ahead of him. I know he will work hard to get back."
"Obviously, you want nothing but him to be as close to 100 percent as possible," Chris Myers said. "Unfortunately, he had to get that surgery, so he is going to battle back and grind back. I have no doubt that he is going to be able to treat his offseason like it's his on season. Be able to get healthy and be back for us next season."
"I just pray for him," Kendrick Lewis said. "It's tough coming in as a rookie and going through that. I just pray for him and wish him well, wish him a healthy recovery and that's all I can say about the guy's injury. That's one of my guys, one of my bros in the locker room. I wish him well with his injury and with what he's dealing with."
"You know, we all wish him the best and a healthy recovery period," Kareem Jackson said. "For him, that's the only thing he can focus on. For us, we've got to focus on Indy. As a teammate, we definitely want him to get healthy, take his time, and get back to 100 percent, however long it will take. For us, the next guy has to step in and play his spot and we have to keep going."
The No. 1 overall draft pick will begin a nine-month long rehabilitation process with an estimated return in September 2015.
