After three days of training camp practice, Andre Johnson looks like he hasn't missed a beat all year.
In Monday's practice, the Texans playbook installation led to a number of deep passes from all three quarterbacks. Late during practice, Johnson stretched himself out and made a flying catch on a deep pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was "a little tight" after the play but not too worried about it.
"It's minor," head coach Bill O'Brien said after practice. "You know, just those guys have played a lot of football. We'll make sure we do a good job of managing them through the season."
He was limited for the remainder of Monday's practice as a precaution but said it was "nothing serious."
"Anytime you get a nick or anything, you know you worry about, but if I had to say it was going to keep me out for weeks or something like that, no I wouldn't go there," Johnson said.
Despite missing the offseason and getting his first playbook install just a few days earlier, the two-time All Pro has connected well with Fitzpatrick, eliciting big cheers from fans attending camp. With each passing day, Johnson feels more comfortable with the Texans starting quarterback on and off the field.
"I like it, it's fun," Johnson said of working with Fitzpatrick. "Me and him have been doing a lot of communicating since I've been here. In this offense, the quarterback and receiver definitely have to be on the same page, so me and him are talking all of the time, just things about the offense."
Fitzpatrick and Johnson first met in the spring during J.J. Watt's charity softball game. After his arrival in Houston last week, the two met again to go over the playbook before the start of camp. Fitzpatrick has enjoyed working with Johnson so far.
"I mean he's a great guy to come to work with every day,' Fitzpatrick said. "The way that he prepares and gets himself ready; very, very intelligent guy. Obviously, everybody knows the talent that he has, but I've been really excited. I'm really looking forward to playing with him this year just because of the way that he works and the way that he has put in the time the first few days to learn and understand everything." Johnson is the Texans all-time leading receiver with 927 receptions for 12,661 yards and 61 touchdowns in 11 seasons.
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