Houston Texans Training Camp 2020: Why It’s Like No Other

Your Houston Texan rookies reported to training camp earlier this week; Monday, to be precise. While that thought brings images of weight training, stretching on the practice field, or even running limited drills, the reality was far less exciting.

Tom Pelliserio on “Good Morning Football”:

“The first day is literally just a COVID-19 test. They take the test, they go home. They come back to the building on Tuesday, take another COVID-19 test. If they get two negatives in a row, only then can they move on to other things, be in the building, take their physical and move into team activities.”

Who isn’t excited to see a 200+ lb. man get a swab stuck up his nose before he’s told to go home? That’s what football’s all about, right? Sadly, in 2020 it is.

If the NFL & NFLPA can get their plan on the same page by Sunday, things will start looking more “normal” beginning next week. At that point, hopefully outlets with access to the team will actually surrender their bias against the internet and figure out how to enter the 21st century with coverage of training camp that isn’t restricted to a newspaper no one reads anymore (yes, there’s still a little salt-life for the way bloggers get treated by ‘real newspaper journalists’, but that’s neither here nor there). Hopefully, ESPN’s Sarah Barshop will have solid access and the network will look to maximize coverage in an offseason where many NFL fans are more starved for football than ever before.

Thankfully, Deshaun Watson lives in the modern world and embraces technology to connect with this teammates every way he can. From his traveling training camps to Zoom meetings to FaceTiming teammates, Watson uses everything at his disposal to win off the field, just like he does on it.

Jordan Akins (via Drew Dougherty):

“It’s not just on the field, it’s off the field as well. The stronger your relationship is, the stronger your connection is going to be on the field. Sometimes if I want to break the route or keep the route on, [Deshaun will] know. And I know what he wants to do.”

Brandin Cooks:

“We’re doing Zoom meetings, asking Deshaun what he’s looking for, what does he like to see from his receivers, what is he seeing in this defense and the way that he likes to throw things.”

Tytus Howard:

He’s just been showing his leadership by what he expects from us. I’ve been watching him working out each and every day. I know one of his mottos is “the work comes first”, and you don’t hear that from a lot of people that the work comes first.

What are you most looking forward to when Texans training camp gets underway? Want to see the rookies? Can’t wait for a position battle in the secondary or wide receivers? Jazzed to see who steps up to fill the edge rusher role? Want to watch J.J. Watt terrorize the offensive line? Secretly hoping Alfred Blue shows up to take another shot at Brian Cushing when no one is looking? Let us know in the comments.