Jadeveon Clowney returned to practice.
Monday morning at the Houston Methodist Training Center, the outside linebacker worked on the same field with his teammates for the first time since last November. Clowney had microfracture surgery on a knee in early December, and has been on the rehab trail since.
"I felt pretty good," Clowney said. "I'm just happy to be back out here with my teammates, taking it one day at a time."
The first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Clowney played in four games as a rookie. During OTAs, minicamp, and the first two weeks of training camp, he worked out on a side field with the team's medical and strength and conditioning staffs. Getting a chance to mix it up with his teammtes on Monday, was a nice change.
"Anytime you have surgery, the rehab process can be monotonous," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He put in the work. We're going to ease him back into this thing and ramp him up to be able to play in games and go from there. So yeah, he put in a lot of work."
Clowney took part in the walkthru, dyanmic stretching and individuals portions of practice. O'Brien said he didn't know when Clowney would play in a game, but said the pass rusher has "worked hard" to get back on the field.
The former South Carolina Gamecock said he wasn't feeling sore, and was hoping to build on what he did today, on Tuesday. He also said he joked with O'Brien that he wanted "get some pass rush" work in on Monday, but the head coach wouldn't allow it.
"It was hard work, but we're pulling it off," Clowney said. "I had a lot of help. A lot of assistance from guys. My teammates, my trainers, my family. Everybody's supported me through the whole thing."
Clowney and the Texans will practice again on Tuesday morning at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
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