The Texans will have a rookie mini-camp from May 10-12 to give their newest players a head start on OTAs and to host players for tryouts.
Texans OTAs (organized team activities), non-contact spring practices, begin on May 20. NFL teams can have their rookies on campus beginning May 13 and can have a rookie mini-camp from either May 3-5 or May 10-12. The Texans are one of 23 NFL teams who will have theirs on the latter weekend.
"I haven't had one the last few years, and the reason I haven't done that is because you could bring the guys in but you had to send them right back home, so I just kind of felt like I'd wait until we got going at OTAs," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said from his office at Reliant Stadium. "The rules this year have changed. If you do have your minicamp the weekend of the 10th, 11th and 12th, then your rookies can stay with you; they don't have to leave the premises. It gives us a chance to basically get started three days early, keep them here the whole time, work them into OTAs, so looking forward to that."
The Texans' nine draft picks, including first-round wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, will participate in the mini-camp. So will their undrafted rookie free agents and an undisclosed group of tryout players invited by the team.
"We'll get a chance to take a look at everybody, but we're looking forward to getting those nine guys going, especially," Kubiak said.
The Texans also have seven first-year players who are eligible to participate in the mini-camp: quarterback Case Keenum, tight ends Phillip Supernaw and Jake Byrne, offensive lineman Nick Mondek, defensive ends Delano Johnson and Keith Browner and inside linebacker Cameron Collins.
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