HOUSTON – The Texans begin their defense of their AFC South division title soon, starting with preparations for the season with a training camp that includes joint practices with the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions and a return trip to West Virginia.
The Texans report for training camp July 22 and hold their first practice July 23. Seven practices are open to fans: July 26, July 28, July 29, July 30, Aug. 1, Aug. 2 and Aug. 14.
Recommended Videos
The Texans’ joint practice with the Panthers in Houston is set for Aug. 14 in advance of a preseason game at NRG Stadium.
They have a joint practice with the Lions in Michigan before their road preseason game at Ford Field on Aug. 21.
The Texans will get out of the Texas heat for four training camp practices at The Greenbrier in Sulphur Springs, West Virginia from Aug. 4 to Aug. 7 in advance of a road preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings.
All fans will have the opportunity to claim free tickets to practices beginning Thursday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster.com . There will be a limited number of tickets available per day and it is anticipated that tickets will go quickly.
The Texans have won the past two AFC South division titles under the leadership of coach DeMeco Ryans, a former Pro Bowl linebacker and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Texans have significantly overhauled their offensive line and receiver corps this offseason under the direction of general manager Nick Caserio. They are projected as a playoff contender again and have set their ambitions on making a deeper playoff run after going 0-6 in all-time franchise history in the AFC divisional round.
“With our roster, where we are now, I feel really strong about our roster,” Ryans said at the close of minicamp. “I always take into account, every year, every player that’s on our team. Some people have the adage of, ‘Oh, you guys are going all in because you make a certain move here or there. Well, to me, what year aren’t you going all in? If you’re not trying to go all in, whatever that move is, then it’s just a disrespect to the organization, a disrespect to all the players who are putting their bodies through a ton of pain, ton of suffering to go out and play this game. So, for me, just respecting the game and what it means to me, every year, we’re trying to accomplish the goal of winning it all, doing our absolute best to put our team in position to do that.
“And it starts with Nick Caserio and the job that he does with scouting talent, being able to acquire guys and getting deals done. There’s nobody that cares more about the people in this building than Nick Caserio. It’s easy when you’re working with a guy like Nick, he makes it easy on me. We see the game the right way, we’re both very competitive in what we’re doing, so it’s a great match and the roster isn’t the way it is without Nick’s help, so credit to him for that.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
