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According to reports Andre Johnson and Duane Brown returned to practice this morning as expected. Both star players suffered injuries initially thought to be serious early last week, but each was later discovered to be minor. However, for Texans fans who had their first taste of success abruptly ended last season, no injury is minor and even the slightest limp to a key player has them reaching for the panic button. Also returning to practice was Kareem Jackson, good for the depth of the secondary, but less important to the success of the team. With Johnson and Brown back on the field, J.J. Watt remains as the lone star still missing in action after last weeks rash of injuries; he's expected to be back before the start of the regular season.
I expect Duane Brown to be back to normal pretty quickly, but reports indicate that Andre Johnson will be on a play count. Good decision by Kubiak, Johnson is on the wrong side of 30 and the types of injuries he's having can linger and continue to pop up if not taken care of properly. I hate to label Johnson as injury prone, but when it's tissue and ligaments getting hurt, it's hard to deny he has an issue. Only time will tell if he can stay healthy, but for all of the attention on Matt Schaub this off-season, nothing is more important to his success than his left tackle and star wide receiver remaining healthy.