The Houston Texans held the first practice of training camp on Friday. There were four Texans who did not participate in the session.
Additionally, there was an injury to tight end Antony Auclair, which ended his day prematurely. The Canadian-born veteran needed the assistance of a cart to get off the field while he held ice against his injured knee, Aaron Wilson reported.
Texans Head Coach Lovie Smith did not have an update on the condition of Auclair in his post-practice presser.
Auclair, a five-year veteran, is more of a blocker than a pass catcher. He has 15 catches in five seasons in the NFL, an average of three per season. However, he was one of the first targets for Davis Mills today.
Hopefully it was not a severe injury, and the veteran tight end can come back to practice soon.
There are more injuries to discuss for the start of training camp
Unfortunately, injury is part of the game of football; sometimes they can’t be worked around, and they just happen. Sometimes ailments can keep a player away from participating in training camp practice.
Four players were unable to suit up for yesterday’s work. This excludes those placed on the PUP list prior to the start of training camp and John Metchie, who is likely not playing in 2022 due to his cancer diagnosis.
Jon Greenard, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Justin Britt and Phillip Dorsett all missed Friday’s practice.
While Smith didn’t discuss Auclair, he talked about most of the players who missed Friday’s session.
“Jonathan Greenard is coming off a major injury,” Smith said. “Justin Britt is coming off an injury. Some of those players that we are watching their reps a little bit, but you’ll see them for the most part. This is a big year for Jonathan Greenard. He is healthy now. In order for us to have success, I talk about playing better defense, it starts with our defensive line.”
From how Smith spoke about each player in his press conference, none of these injuries seem to be long-term issues going forward.
One player not discussed was wide receiver, Phillip Dorsett. Dorsett figures to be a deep threat, but, his injury is not disclosed as of yet.
However, not being on the PUP list should be a good sign for the pass-catchers availability.
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