Houston Texans Training Camp 2021: Predictions, preview, team news and more
The Houston Texans are coming off a disastrous 2020 season. At the end of 2019, they had one of the best young quarterbacks in the game, DeAndre Hopkins and watt' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>watt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">JJ Watt. Going into 2021, the team appears to be rebuilding as watson" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deshaun Watson appears to be on the way out and Hopkins and Watt are gone after a 4-12 season. The Texans also fired head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien.
Will the Texans be able to rebuild overnight? The first step will be to hit the ground running in training camp when the Texans arrive at the Houston Methodist Training Center in Houston, Texas on July 27.
Houston Texans news roundup heading into training camp
The Houston Texans have been on a national stage this offseason, mostly because of the Deshaun Watson drama. The QB faces over 20 lawsuits regarding a multitude of claims, including sexual misconduct. At the same time, Watson has been open about his desire to leave the Texans and join the Denver Broncos.
However, there is a question as to whether he will play at all this year.
While no official NFL action has been taken to suspend Watson, an interim suspension seems imminent. That said, with training camp on the horizon, Watson is technically on a path to play this year.
Who will be the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans this year?
The Texans have made some moves to prepare for his absence. They signed Tyrod Taylor and drafted Davis Mills in the third round of the NFL Draft. It seems that even the Texans are at a loss as to what will happen in the next month.
Aside from at quarterback, the Texans also made some other moves this offseason. JJ Watt and Duke Johnson have moved on. Josh McCown was released. Phillip Lindsay was added. Mark Ingram II also made his way to Houston.
The Texans also added Chris Conley and Desmond King. Lastly, Rex Burkhead was added to the roster.
Position battles and players to watch
Quarterback will continue to be a national story throughout training camp. Will Watson show up for training camp? If so, will he survive training camp without suspension? If not, will Tyrod Taylor or Davis Mills win the starting job? It's too bad that HBO's "Hard Knocks" is covering the other Texas team, because there may not be a jucier team to follow this August.
Another competition worth checking out will be David Johnson taking on Phillip Lindsay and Mark Ingram II. At this point, Ingram seems to be the third-string running back. However, Phillip Lindsay is coming off the worst season of his career since he split reps with Melvin Gordon in Denver.
In each of the two previous seasons, he earned over 1,000 yards as a rusher. Compared to Johnson's 691 yards in 2020, Lindsay seems to be in position to supplant Johnson as the starting running back.