Head Coach Gary Kubiak
WR DeAndre Hopkins
WR Andre Johnson
OLB Sam Montgomery
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on RB Arian Foster's injury) "(He) strained his calf; we're gonna go get it looked at. I don't know, it was the first play of team, so we'll see."
(on if RB Arian Foster's injury is concerning) "It's always concerning. Like I said, you're trying to get better out here and work everybody. It's part of football so we'll see what's wrong, see what happened."
(on if RB Arian Foster's injury is a strained calf) "Yes. That's what this is, yes."
(on what else is going on with the team) "I think I gave them too much time off. We had too long a weekend. But we got going again today and some young guys going backward today. Obviously we're getting into a lot more stuff this week, so the challenge gets bigger. Got our hands on a lot of balls today, defensively. Had three or four picks; made some great plays. Just got to get back in the groove today. Like I said, some young guys swimming today."
(on which running backs aside from Arian Foster and Ben Tate have caught his eye) "Well I think they all have, without me going through all four of them, I think all four of them have good running ability. I think the thing that's going to be the key is how they pick up pass protections, how they play on special teams. But obviously you can see, we're in shorts, they've all got some good run ability. So we'll have to wait and see."
(on OLB Willie Jefferson) "He's doing some good stuff. He's long, he's thin. He can put on some weight. Reminds us of (OLB Bryan) Braman a lot when we got Braman started a couple years ago. So a lot of ability there and see if we can get it all channeled in the right direction."
(on RG Brandon Brooks coming back for his second year weighing less) "He looks really good. And I talk about young players getting better, he's obviously a guy who stands out right now. He's been very good throughout these OTAs. The thing you hope for as a coach when you've all the sudden got a young guy and you say, 'Okay. You're the starter,' which is basically what we've done with (RG) Brandon (Brooks), he starts acting like it. And he's done that; he's had a good four days."
(on rookie T Brennan Williams) "Just trying to get him healthy coming off of that knee (injury) that he got in OTAs. Just trying to get him healthy. Basically resting him right now. Hope to put him back to work sometime next week."
(on if young guys going backward is mental or physical) "It's like total overload today, so I don't know. Some of the easy things we were doing last week got real hard today. Obviously, we're putting a lot of new things in. Having to remind them of way too many things today. But that's part of it. That's why we're here. So we'll catch them up. We'll holler at them and catch them up."
(on wide receivers Lestar Jean and Keshawn Martin) "(WR) Lestar (Jean) and (WR) Keshawn (Martin) have been excellent throughout the OTAs. They're grown-up. They're veteran players now. They understand the opportunity they have and I think they're taking advantage of it right now."
(on the potential of RG Brandon Brooks) "The potential is unlimited, it really is. He's got so much. The thing is, he's getting comfortable with what we're doing. That's the biggest thing right now. He acts like one of the guys now. He doesn't stand out as a young guy now. He acts like one of the guys. So I'm excited for him."
(on which young players have not taken a step back) "I mean, there are some guys I've talked about; I've talked about (WR) Keshawn (Martin), I've talked about (CB) Roc (Carmichael); (CB) Brandon Harris was looking really good until he had his little setback the other day; he got dinged out here so we put him through the protocol but could very well be back tomorrow. Did I mention (S) Eddie Pleasant? Eddie Pleasant has been a much different player right now than he was last year. (DE) Delano Johnson is a much different player than he was last year. Actually, (OLB) Braman. Braman's getting a chance to operate as a starter and starting to act like he belongs from that standpoint. So it's a big, big camp for him."
(on who would be his backup nose tackle if the team had to play tomorrow) "The thing that we have is we have options because we can slide guys around. Obviously, bringing (NT) Chris (Jones) along. (DE Tim) Jamison will be back for camp. That's going to happen in camp. The key is (NT) Earl (Mitchell) has turned into a really fine player. From there, we'll figure it out."
(on how the team is using OLB Brooks Reed) "Well, we're not very flexible with him right now. He's lining up inside and working inside. We think that's important for his development, to get the reps there right now. Obviously, he can go back and play SAM any day, so that's a good thing. (OLB) Brooks (Reed) is going to be a good player wherever we put him, whether inside or outside. So he's having really good OTAs."
WR DeAndre Hopkins
(on how he feels his progress is coming along) "It's coming along well. I've still got a lot to improve on. I'm not close to where I want to be but that's why it's the offseason. So hopefully I'll be ready by preseason."
(on if he's seeking advice from any other receivers than Andre Johnson) "All of them. Every single receiver out here because they've been in the system for a year. So why not?"
(on WR Keshawn Martin) "(WR) Keshawn (Martin), he's a good player, so are the other guys out here, even the rookies. They all make you step up your game once you're out there on the field."
(on the biggest part of the learning curve so far) "Just the pace of the game. It's faster than college even though ours was fast-paced at Clemson. It's a lot faster."
(on if he took a step backwards at practice) "I don't think I took a step back. I think I could have done some things better. But effort-wise and just going out there, I had a few mental mistakes, but that's going to come with being a rookie in Week 2. But I feel like I got better today."
(on if being at OTAs is the best thing for his development) "Of course. You can't become an NFL player by doing Combine stuff. So once you're out here on this field and you see how everybody works and just get acclimated to the system and the way the coaches coach, then it kicks in, that you're in the NFL."
(on the NFL moving the Draft later in the year and young players getting less time with their new team) "Some guys pick up stuff pretty easy and some guys don't. So I guess it's a 50-50 by doing that. But the NFL, they have their own system. They pay me, so I can't go against what they say or do."
(on if it's tough for the body to rest between performing at the Combine and joining a team for OTAs) "It is but that's when you become a professional, once you know how to do all that stuff. You still treat your body how you're supposed to treat it. You've got to be a professional off the field as well. But all that stuff, it weighs on you, of course."
(on the expectation that he is going to be an offensive threat and what goes through his mind when a player like RB Arian Foster leaves the field) "Aw, man. He's pressing hard. You like to see that sometimes, when guys come off the field wobbling, especially your leaders because you know that they're going out there and giving 100 percent. I'm going to play my role. Wherever I can fit in, whatever I can do to help this team win, that's what I'm going to do."
(on if he holds his breath when he sees a teammate like RB Arian Foster leave the field with an injury) "Of course."
WR Andre Johnson
(on his relationship with WR DeAndre Hopkins) "I just try to help out as much as I can with him and all the other young guys. I guess he gets it a little bit more because he sits next to me in meetings and stuff. Whenever he has a question or whatever, he's right there to ask it. Like I said, all of the young guys that we have here have a lot of talent. It's probably one of the most talented groups of receivers that we've had since I've been here."
(On if WR DeAndre Hopkins still has a lot of questions for him) "Yeah, now with the practices and stuff like that going on it's just plays that he sometimes gets confused with. He pretty much, most of the time, knows what he's doing. Like I said, you're going to have questions with the system being new for him and stuff like that. He's not really out here making a lot of mental errors or anything like that during practice, which is a good thing. As time goes on, he'll continue to get better and better."
(on if he saw what happened to RB Arian Foster) "No, I don't even know. It was when we were running a play and I just saw him limping back off the field. I don't know exactly what happened. I'll find out once I get in the locker room."
(on if he holds his breath when someone limps off during practice) "I think if it was real bad, I think we would've known about it by now. I don't think that it's nothing real bad, maybe a strain or something. I don't know. I'll find out once I get in the locker room."
(on if they think about injuries like that after working so hard in the offseason) "It happens. I went through that myself, in a game, going down without being touched. That's just the nature of this business. Sometimes it happens and you just have to find a way to recover from it and come back stronger. I know how hard (RB) Arian (Foster) works, so I'm sure he'll be fine. I don't think it's anything major or anything like that. Like I said, I think if it was anything real serious where he would have to miss a lot of time, we would probably know by now."
(on the benefits of having QB Matt Schaub out at OTAs) "We just get to work on our timing and things like that. That's something that we always try to work on and we try to get on the same page with different situations in games and stuff like that. Us both being healthy finally and being able to work out here together, it will help us out a lot."
(on if he sees much change in QB Matt Schaub) "We've only been out here a few days. He's working hard. He took a lot of criticism and stuff over this past offseason, so like I said before, he'll be ready to go."
(on how the defense has been playing in OTAs) "They've been playing hard. They made some great plays and that's part of it. When you go against your team, one team is going to win and one team is going to lose. It's going to happen every day, but the defense got the best of us today. The good thing about it is we have another day tomorrow so we'll come back out here and get them."
(on WR Keshawn Martin) "Keshawn, he looks comfortable. That's one thing that sticks out. He looks comfortable and very confident in what he's doing. I think he's going to be a lot better for us this year."
OLB Sam Montgomery
(on if it's tough to adjust to the NFL, where players are bigger, stronger and faster) "You have one choice: either you get with them our you get out. So I'm definitely trying to progress with them and get with them."
(on what it meant to sign his first professional contract last week) "It meant a lot. It meant that all the hard work has paid off but there's still hard work to be done. It's one of those things where you just relax a little bit still, you have stuff to do, responsibilities."
(on if it was emotional to sign his first NFL contract) "Of course it was emotional, but really, I don't have time to relax. I don't' have time to do that because I have to go practice tomorrow. I've got to compete with (DE) J.J. (Watt) tomorrow. I've got to compete with (DE) Antonio (Smith) tomorrow. I've got to compete with (OLB) Brooks (Reed) tomorrow. So it's definitely one of those things where it might be a moment of relief but overall, it's long work."
