The final practice of the Texans preseason ended with a heartwarming surprise.
Rookie wide receiver John Metchie III took a timeout from his treatment for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia to visit the team on Tuesday. After work on the field finished, Head Coach Lovie Smith introduced Metchie to the squad.
"Practice does have a little bit different feel when you have a special guest come back," Smith said. "We've been praying for John and watching him deal with a tough illness, but it's good for the team to see him back in the full."
Metchie was diagnosed just days before the team began training camp. Even though he was just months into his time as a Texan, he made a big impression on his newest teammates.
"It gave us a lot of hope to see him in good spirits," Defensive Back Steven Nelson said. "When you have cancer like that, that can bring, especially a young guy, down, anybody for that matter. But it was good seeing him."
Metchie's presence Tuesday forced some, like Linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, to re-evaluate things.
"It makes us take a look at all of us," Grugier-Hill said. "We take this for granted a lot and for a guy like Metchie just to wake up one day and his whole life is different, for now. It's a blessing to be out here and were excited to see him grow and continue to get better."
The Texans wrap up their preseason schedule with a Thursday-nighter against the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium.
