Got a question about the Texans? Life in general? Drew Dougherty's your guy. He's been with the Texans since 2009 and is chock full of meaningful, as well as generally useless, information. Fire away by clicking HERE.
Rex Cortez: Dear Drew, Why did you guys cut Mike Boone? I thought he looked good in the preseason games.
DD: Boone's actually back on the active roster, Rex. He was part of the initial 53-man roster on Tuesday evening, then released on Wednesday, and he signed a new deal to get back on the roster Thursday.
Ultimately, you're correct: Boone looked good in the preseason. He picked up yardage on the ground and also as a receiver. The veteran running back ran for an 11-yard touchdown in the win at New Orleans Sunday night and finished the evening with 11 touches for 77 yards.
Executive Vice President and General Manager Nick Caserio liked the way Boone took "advantage of his opportunities in games" and practices.
"Mike has had a great attitude and he's been consistent with his performance since he got here," Caserio said. "Still a younger player even though he has four or five years of experience."
The Boone roster announcement, release, and re-signing is one example of the many roster moves Caserio alluded to Wednesday, that will happen over the next few days.
Derwin Jordan: Dear Drew, How much of cancelling the joint practices was to get a head start on Baltimore?
DD: That certainly might have been a bit of the reasoning for the cancellation. But Head Coach DeMeco Ryans specifically cited how banged up the team was, physically. Wanting to avoid a pair of intense, padded practices was the main driver in the decision to stay home.
Evan Billings: Dear Drew, Are the Texans going to wear Battle Red Helmets in the home opener?
DD: They might. We know for certain they'll wear those helmets on Battle Red Sunday, November 26 against the Jaguars. But they also plan on wearing them two other games this season. The home opener certainly makes sense. The official team X (or Twitter, as nearly everyone still calls it) account fired off this post (see below) yesterday.
Cristo Flores: Dear Drew, Is ole #56 Brian Cushing still involved with the Texans organization in any way?
DD: The franchise's all-time leading tackler is not a strength and conditioning coach anymore. But he's happy his old teammate DeMeco Ryans is the team's head coach, and in late April Cushing announced the Texans’ draft pick of Penn State center Juice Scruggs. Cushing's very busy in retirement and enjoying time with his family.
Edward Sorenson: Dear Drew, What are the chances the Texans offer a coaching position to former cornerback Johnathan Joseph?
DD: I could definitely see it happening, in some sort of capacity. Joseph was a Bill Walsh Diversity Fellow during training camp and the preseason. Ryans spoke glowingly about Joseph’s impact, and just yesterday in the Texans locker room, safety Jalen Pitre raved about Joseph's insight.
"I want to give a shoutout to J-Joe," Pitre said. "Real smart guy. I used to sit by him in the meetings when he was here. He challenged me a lot. He talked to me about a lot of different things that I was not used to hearing. Stuff that I had never seen. It was crazy to just hear stuff from a veteran like that. Things that he was seeing at corner, and the formation tips, the alignment tips. I was like 'Wow. That's been there my whole life, but I've never seen it.' It's always fun to find a new piece to the puzzle."
