On a rainy Thursday morning, the Houston Texans practiced inside NRG Stadium. After, several assistant coaches met with the press in the media workroom, and some players spoke with the media during the open locker room period. Here are few nuggets of news from Thursday.
O-Line shuffling
The last two games have seen C.J. Stroud not get sacked a single time. The offensive line, with different 5-man combinations in both contests, will likely have another new combo this week. Tytus Howard returned from the injured reserve and practiced yesterday and today. Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who missed the last two weeks with a knee injury, practiced both days as well. So too, did Josh Jones.
Center Jarrett Patterson practiced mainly at guard in training camp. Jones started at left tackle against the Colts and Jaguars, after starting at left guard in Week 1 at Baltimore.
Offensive line coach Chris Strausser said the mixing-and-matching through the first chunk of this season was aided by some cross-training that began in training camp.
"As you start to really get some good banked reps now, over time, guys get used to playing different spots and have a much better feel for it," Strausser said. "Guys have had to move way more than what we'd like. But we kind of started that process from offseason."
Regardless of who plays where, right tackle George Fant said the return of Howard, Tunsil and Jones helps the Texans up front.
"A lot," Fant said. "You look at the guys we got back and you know the caliber players they are. It obviously means a lot for us. We're so excited to have those guys back."
Injury report
To see the full Thursday injury report, please click HERE.
Captains Combo
Both starting safeties—Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward—were voted team captains before the season began. Ward missed the first two games with injury, while Pitre missed Weeks 2 and 3 with injury. Last Sunday was their first time to suit up together in a regular season game. The defense allowed just a pair of field goals and they each forced a fumble and logged a combined six tackles.
Pitre lit up when describing how enthused the duo was to hit the field together for the first time.
"Oh, it was turnt," Pitre said. "Right before we went out for the first drive, we were head-smacking each other, trying to get ready. It's just good energy on the field. He's a good communicator and he brings it every time he's out there. To have us both just bouncing that off of each other, it was real fun to get out there with him."
