The Texans practiced outside Wednesday morning at the Houston Methodist Training Center. On Tuesday, the club cut its roster down from 90 to 53 players. General Manager Nick Caserio met with the media before, while Head Coach DeMeco Ryans held a post-practice press conference. The locker room was open to the media after the Ryans' press conference, and several players spoke.
Kenyon Green Update
Of the many moves made Tuesday by the team, Kenyon Green's was a tough one. The second-year offensive lineman, who started 14 games as a rookie in 2022, went on the injured reserve. He left Sunday night's preseason game at New Orleans in the first half, and Ryans described why he appreciated fighting through a lot to get on the field.
"He went out every day and gave it his all every day at training camp and pushed through a lot of things," Ryans said. "Really proud of Kenyon and the things that he fought through. He'll bounce back. Just hoping for Kenyon to take care of himself, get himself ready to go for next year."
Caserio explained what the message is to the 2022 first-rounder.
"Get ready for next year," Caserio said. "Get ready, get healthy and get ready for the offseason. He played last year, got good experience, had some good plays, had some bad plays. Every young player goes through that. We are where we are this year. Look forward to 2024 and kind of see where he is come February or March or whenever the offseason program starts."
Jimmie Ward's new nickname
Safety Jalen Pitre described fellow safety Jimmie Ward in an interesting way.
"Apex predator," PItre said. "A lot of people are saying 'dog' and 'animal', but he's the top of the top, on and off the field."
Ward is entering his 10th NFL season. He signed with the Texans in free agency this offseason and has made quite the impression on Pitre and the rest of the club. The second-year veteran explained why Ward got the 'Apex Predeator' moniker.
"He's a player that doesn't shy away from contact, first off, and a player that's real smart," Pitre said. "He's asking the right questions in the meeting room and he's not shying away from telling everybody else in the room what he's seeing in order to have us all on the same page."
Josh Jones familiarity
The Texans traded a 2023 fifth-round pick to Arizona for offensive lineman Josh Jones and a seventh-rounder in next year's NFL Draft. Jones has played at tackle and guard in three NFL seasons and compared the Texans and Cardinals styles of blocking.
"It's from the same kind of tree," Jones said. "It's basically like almost the same thing. It's just a different terminology and different language that they use. I just got to get hip to that. Once I get that, we'll just make it one day at a time."
Eye-opening past few days
Rookie wide receiver Tank Dell was electric when he touched the ball in two preseason games this August. With the roster cutdown the last few days, it's been an adjustment, seeing so many teammates quickly become former teammates.
"It showed me a lot as a rookie," Dell said. "It's a blessing just to make the squad. Just got to come in and work every day, give it your all."
The light practice Tuesday afternoon, and the one this morning were a bit odd, after going through OTAs and training camp with 89 teammates.
"Yesterday was a little weird in the building, because a lot of faces gone and things like that," Dell said. "But today we got right back to work. It just was a different feeling."
Some Johnathan Joseph appreciation
Pitre's been praised for his film-room dedication over the last year and change. When he was asked who in the secondary challenges him, he brought up a Texans great in Johnathan Joseph. The former cornerback has been with the club as a Bill Walsh Diversity Fellow, and Joseph made a big impact on Pitre's film work.
"I want to give a shoutout to J-Joe," Pitre said. "Real smart guy. I used to sit by him in the meetings when he was here. He challenged me a lot. He talked to me about a lot of different things that I was not used to hearing. Stuff that I had never seen. It was crazy to just hear stuff from a veteran like that. Things that he was seeing at corner, and the formation tips, the alignment tips. I was like 'Wow. That's been there my whole life, but I've never seen it.' It's always fun to find a new piece to the puzzle."
