Houston Texans: Take a look inside the off-season schedule
By T.A. Mock
Phase One
When the team reports on April 16th, there won’t be much football happening. The players will simply be reporting for workouts. This is when Richesson comes into play. Richesson is tasked with making sure injured players are well on their way to recovery. In addition, he’ll be making sure that the rest of the players get into proper shape, as to avoid injuries.
Watt and Watson [insert link] seem to be well on their way to returning to full football activities this off season. Unfortunately, there has not been much news in regards to Mercilus’ injury. However, with it being a pectoral (?) injury, there shouldn’t be much left to do after the muscle tear is fully healed.
It is always interesting to see new players at this point in the off season. Some new players come into their new team’s camp in the best shape of their lives to impress. Others may come in ready for their standards of previous teams and aren’t quite up to snuff for their new one. Mathieu, Colvin, and Fulton are extremely high-level competitors. I would expect them to report to camp rearing and ready to go.
Any shot of a hold out?
This portion of the off season is typically when you start to see players expressing frustration with their contracts. Players won’t report and will hold out from team activities in efforts to speed up new deals. The only player that we MIGHT see this from is Jadeveon Clowney. However, I think this is unlikely. Clowney and the Houston Texans have repeatedly expressed interest in getting a deal done. Recent news also suggests that talks are ramping up. Beyond Clowney, no one else is on my radar for a potential hold out.
Regardless, this portion of the off season is not mandatory so players can skip freely, so technically there cannot be a hold out at this stage. Some veterans prefer their off site routines with their personal trainers. This also allows players with families the option to spend more time with them. The world won’t end if all the stars aren’t present for phase one.
Remember, phase one is restricted to strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation workouts. The dates for these workouts are as follows: