When he found out David Quessenberry had lymphoma, Chris Myers said it felt like getting by "a ton of bricks". But shortly after that, he went to work.
"From the day that we got this news, Chris Myers has been running on things that we could do to show our support," left tackle Duane Brown said of the veteran center. "He's kind of been the ring leader of getting this thing in motion and bringing it forth."
Texans coaches and staff, along with players not practicing in pads Saturday morning, sported navy blue 'Texans for DQ' t-shirts in support of the second-year offensive lineman. The shirts were made by Run Game Clothing, and are available for sale at shop.houstontexans.com. Proceeds will help benefit Lymphoma Research, and the goal is to raise $100,000. Quessenberry was touched by the efforts.
"I'm speechless about my teammates," Quessenberry said during a Saturday conference call. "I think it is a testament to the organization that the Texans are. I mean not just the teammates, but we're talking from the top to the bottom, inside and out. I'm so blessed to be a part of such a tremendous organization."
For Myers, the push behind helping Quessenberry was pretty simple.
"He's made a big impression on a lot of us," Myers said. "Myself, Duane, and older guys take him under our wing, like a little brother. I was roommates with him at Ben Jones' wedding earlier this off-season and I was able to kind of kick-it around with him that next Monday or Tuesday as he was getting diagnosed."
Head coach Bill O'Brien, who said he thinks very highly of Quessenberry, lauded the efforts of Myers, Brown and the rest of the offensive line.
"It's just a testament again to those guys," O'Brien said. "Those are two really good veteran players, Duane Brown and Chris Myers."
Myers and Brown have both kept in touch with Quessenberry, and they said he was touched by the t-shirts and show of support.
"He was ecstatic when he found out about it," Brown said. "His spirits are already high, he's being very optimistic and he's already got his mind made up that he's going to fight this thing, but that just gives him even more motivation and even more inspiration."
On top of what happened Saturday at camp, and the goals of $100,000 for charity, Myers also has plans for 12 days from now.
"Fast-forward to August 14th: we're trying to do a "DQStrong" Day and be able to get as many fans and everyone where their shirts out here, so it's a big awe and shock factor," Myers said. "To be able to get those funds, it's going to go to amazing research for a great cause and obviously raise awareness on what DQ has."
The Texans will practice that Thursday the 14th versus Atlanta. They'll play the Falcons two nights later at NRG Stadium.
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