Kenyon Green is expected to make his NFL debut in the Houston Texans preseason finale Thursday night. Head coach Lovie Smith will get his first look at the rookie offensive lineman in game action against the San Francisco 49ers.
"Kenyon has made a lot of progress," Smith said. "He'll play. He won't start, but we're going to get him into the mix. He's right on schedule."
Smith has not named starters yet but says that a first-round pick "eventually is going to move into that role, but it'll play itself out." Green is currently listed second on the Texans unofficial depth chart at left guard, behind Justin McCray.
Drafted with the No. 15 overall selection out of Texas A&M, Green missed time with a concussion, but returned to practice last week. Although he did not play in Friday's preseason game in Los Angeles, Green has been trending upwards and is steadily getting more reps.
"He's missed a lot of time, but getting him back out there, just in a group, was big for us," Smith said. "I think the last couple days he's practiced with us, he's done well. No lingering effects from the previous injury. Hopefully we'll be able to do something with him this weekend."
The Texans will close out their preseason at home against the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Amazon Prime and FOX-26 locally in Houston.
