Almost All Hands on Deck for the Start of Houston Texans Training Camp


Arian Foster

Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 NFL season is officially underway for the Houston Texans as the team kicked off training camp with two practices on Friday. All but four of the current 90-man roster participated in Friday’s practice session. Running back Arian Foster, safety Ed Reed and receiver DeVier Posey all did individual work on side fields. Tight end Garrett Graham sat out with an illness.

Foster, Reed and Posey are currently on the preseason physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Foster is coming off of a strained calf injury sustained during OTAs in late May. Head coach Gary Kubiak expects him to be taken off of the PUP and back at practice within the first week of camp.

The timetables for Reed and Posey are less certain for the Texans. Both are coming off of offseason surgery and are being brought along at a slower pace. It is unknown if Reed, the team’s prized offseason free agent acquisition, will play at all in the preseason as he continues to work his way back from hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. The goal for Reed is to be ready to start in week one on Sept. 9.

At this point, Posey is more likely to begin the regular season on the PUP. His rehab for the torn achilles he suffered in the divisional round playoff game has gone well, but it is an injury that the Texans will not rush him back from during camp and the preseason.

One player who was on the field that the team was glad to see back was ILB Brian Cushing. The long road back from the torn ACL he suffered last Oct. 8 finally culminated in him being back on the practice field with his teammates.

Following his first practice in nearly  months, Cushing said, “There will really be no restrictions, I mean, I’m going to ease myself back into it and we got a pretty good plan on how to go about this and to be smart. It’s a long camp and the most important thing is really just to be 100 percent when we come out of it.”

As he stated, the primary goal is for everyone to be 100 percent for week one. Other players who returned for the first day of training camp include right tackle Derek Newton and kicker Randy Bullock. Newton had offseason patellar tendon surgery on his right knee. He will look to retain the starting right tackle spot he held down all of last season. Bullock will be the placekicker this year after missing all of his 2012 rookie season with a leg injury.

With training camp underway and the first preseason contest two weeks away, the Texans are in a good predicament health-wise as we speak. The next goal is to get through the brutally long and hot days of training camp without any significant injuries or setbacks. It’s football time in Houston.


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