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It has been a very busy week in Houston, so let's recap before we get into another great weekend:
Trading Places
Quarterback T.J. Yates was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for linebacker Akeem Dent. That's good news if Dent can help reinforce that void in the middle of the field. He was replaced in Atlanta by former Houston Texans linebacker Tim Dobbins.
Injury Update
JD Clowney underwent surgical repair for a sports hernia and is "day to day." He may, or may not, be ready for training camp, which begins in about five weeks. In harmony with the wisdom from the ancient master of media-deception in New England, it is clear that nothing will be "clear" when it comes to details around injured players in this new O'Brien era, and I'm fine with that. Clowney will be ready when he is ready.
That's a Wrap!
The Texans ended mandatory mini-camp this week with a challenge/opportunity from Coach O'Brien to end things early if Ben Jones could catch a punt.
Drew Dougherty reporting for The Mothership:
Less than 30 minutes into Thursday's work, head coach Bill O'Brien called the Texans together and said that if Jones could cleanly catch a punt, practice would be finished. Rookie kicker Chris Boswell's leg was put to use, and Jones' hands finished the job.
"No matter what he was kicking, I was going to try to catch for the team," Jones said. "We've had a long grind through OTAs and minicamp."
For the next five weeks, your Houston Texans will be on vacation enjoying some free time, yet staying in good shape so they can pass conditioning tests when they hit training camp. That's something former third-round pick Sam Montgomery failed to do as his "one job" last year, when he showed up to camp out of shape and miserably failed his conditioning test. I think it is clear that the O'Brien-led staff won't tolerate that sort of nonsense from these players. Stay in shape, guys!
S.N.O.T.
How will you spend this evening and weekend? Perhaps you might try to jump over the Ferris wheel at the downtown Aquarium like the ever-leaping Shiloh Keo, or pack it up and head to Austin for a couple of days for some original local tunes and brews. Maybe you'll fire up the grill, rent a movie, or start up a fun game of Texas Hold 'Em with some friends.
Either way, this is your thread for this evening, so use it as you like while keeping within the community guidelines. Leave the light on, because it may be late for some returning home to BRB!