HOUSTON – One of the most talented football players on the roster, Texans linebacker Christian Harris put in grueling hours last year preparing for what he had hoped would be a breakout season.
That included training in sand pits and doing defensive back drills to further accentuate his superior athleticism.
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Despite all of his work, Harris’ season went awry.
The former Alabama standout and third-round draft pick first injured his calf in July at training camp, there wasn’t even an inkling that a soft-tissue injury would sideline him the entire preseason as well as the first three months of the regular season. Unfortunately, Harris had a setback as he aggravated his strained calf in August and was placed on injured reserve.
He was limited to three games overall, 20 tackles and one sack one year removed from a 101-tackle, two-sack season when he started 12 of 16 games played and displayed a high-energy, aggressive style of play. When he got back on the field, Harris injured his ankle and was sidelined again.
Harris and the Texans are hoping for a healthy 2025 season and the production he was generating two seasons ago. Now, he’ll compete with linebackers Henry To’oTo’o and former Colts starter E.J. Speed for his role this season.
Harris is expected to be fully ready for training camp. He is currently rehabbing his calf and making steady progress, per league sources.
“Christian is working hard and he’ll be ready to roll for training camp,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said.
With 4.44 speed in the 40-yard dash, Harris is faster than many of the running backs he competes with.
Harris played defensive back in high school in Baton Rouge, La.
Harris has worked hard to shed during a lengthy convalescence.
“Yeah, he’s been here working, like he always is,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “He’s another guy,sound like a broken record. Christianhas been doing his thing. All the guys are on different plans and routines. The goal is to get all these guys ready for camp, and he’s on track to be there for us.”
Harris recorded a career-high 101 tackles two seasons ago and returned an interception for a touchdown in a playoff victory over the Cleveland Browns. He became the seventh player in NFL history to record a pick-six for a touchdown and record a sack in the same playoff game since retired Texans defensive end J.J. Watt did so against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012. Harris had eight tackles, two for losses against the Browns. He had seven more tackles one for a loss and repeatedly pressured Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson in an AFC divisional round playoff loss.
“Christian, he just has to put the work in like Christian always does,” Ryans said at the NFL owners meeting in March. “It’s just an unfortunate thing that happened to him last year with the injury and it just took longer than we all expected. I know it was tough on Christian mentally. He was able to battle back and get in there some, but he just missed so much time last year.
“Christian was having an outstanding offseason the prior year. I’m looking forward to him doing the exact same thing and have a great offseason, come into training camp healthy, ready to go and let’s see what it looks like and compete.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
