The Houston Texans will wrap up the offseason program this week with mandatory veteran minicamp that began Tuesday. Head Coach Lovie Smith was pleased with his team's progress and the turnout of his players, including OL Laremy Tunsil who had missed the previous OTA practices.
"The program has gone about the way we wanted it to," Smith said. "Everything is scripted, leading up to the final week, which is here. For us we're going to go to our minicamp. It will be two days. We're going to go of course, today, so tomorrow is kind of the fourth quarter. Most games are kind of won or lost in the fourth quarter. That's pretty important that we finish it the right way. Most of the guys have been here throughout the entire time unless there's a good reason for not being here. Of course, Laremy (Tunsil) is here today. It was good to see him get back out on the football field. That was a final piece of this puzzle that we're putting together. Great work."
Minicamp practices are similar to Organized Team Activities (OTAs) with no pads or live contact. The Texans had referees out at Tuesday's practice and worked on situational football, including their two-minute drill at the end.
Smith also gave an update on rookies DB Derek Stingley Jr. and OL Kenyon Green, working their way back from injuries. After ramping them up slowly in OTAs, Smith feels confident in their status heading into training camp next month.
"We expect them to be full speed, ready to go," Smith said. "Both players have had off-season surgeries. We knew that. So, we had a plan. We wanted them to first come in, we evaluate, see exactly where they are. We don't play tomorrow, so we're going to take it slow with them. The mental part has been good. Everybody is exactly where we thought they would be, talking about WR John Metchie, too, all the players that have had injuries. Again, we come back in the fall, we're going to be pretty much at 100 percent first day of training camp. We're excited about that."
The Texans will wrap up minicamp on Wednesday at the Houston Methodist Training Center. At the conclusion of minicamp, players will have time off before they have to report for the start of training camp in late July.
