Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, who missed the final four games of the 2007 season with an injured left shoulder that later required offseason surgery, is ready to test his shoulder with contact when training camp begins July 25. In fact, he revealed that he can't even wait that long when a reporter asked if he would be able to withstand contact.
"Oh, definitely," he said. "You know, over the next six weeks I'm just going to go in the locker room when no one's in there and put the helmet and shouler pads and run into the wall a couple of times and see how it feels. I feel confident about it and ready to put the pads on and get hit."
Jokes aside, the Texans' second-year starter is in good spirits mentally because of the progress of his non-throwing shoulder, which did not hinder him during practices in the non-contact mini-camp and OTAs.
"I feel really good coming out of OTAs," he said. "My shoulder feels really strong, really good. I'm just going to keep over the next six weeks rehabbing and strengthening it just to make sure no problems come full-contact time, but it felt good out there. It felt really good, so I feel positive about it and ready to go."
