Next stop: training camp
Accomplishments in OTAs satisfy Culley enough to ax 3-day minicamp
Texans coach David Culley is a man of his word.
Culley gave his players an early vacation Wednesday when he canceled next week’s minicamp, meaning the next time the team is together will be July 27 when the players report for training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center.
After the last of 10 OTAs, Culley disclosed a deal he made with his players after Phase One, the conditioning part of the eight-week offseason program. If enough players participated in the second and third phases that included being on the practice field with the coaches and accomplished what Culley wanted to get done, there would be no minicamp.
At a time when the NFL Players Association was recommending players avoid working out at team facilities, Culley encouraged his players to participate in the voluntary program because the Texans were in the early stages of the rebuild, and attendance was paramount.
“We needed to make sure for at least four weeks during the offseason we had as many players here as possible,” Culley said. “This being voluntary, to be able to learn our culture, learn our system, new defense, all of the different players we’ve had.”
General manager Nick Caserio acquired 50 new players, including 42 veterans, and the offseason program was essential to what the coaches wanted to achieve.
“We (and) our team leaders came to an agreement it was more important for us to make sure we had as many people as we needed to be able to learn what we’re doing and that we would forgo the minicamp,” Culley said. “That’s why we decided not to do the minicamp: because our attendance has been great. We got accomplished what we wanted to get accomplished.”
The Texans joined Indianapolis and Philadelphia as teams canceling their minicamps.
One player benefited from the cancellation more than the others, and he wasn’t even involved in the offseason program. Without a minicamp, the only part of the offseason program that’s mandatory, quarterback Deshaun Watson avoids paying $93,085 in fines.
Watson, whose trade demand is expected to be granted at some point after his legal problems are resolved, wasn’t expected at the minicamp. A threeday absence would have set him
back $15,515 for the first day, $31,030 for the second and $46,540 for the third.
One of the priorities of the last two phases was to see how new quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel adjusted to offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s system.
Watching Mills in the early stage of his development was a vital part of the offseason program and will continue to be at training camp and in three preseason games.
At some point, the Texans are going to need Mills and the other two draft choices on offense, receiver Nico Collins and tight end Brevin Jordan. There were times during Wednesday’s OTA when they were on the field together.
“They just happened to be in there at the same time,” Culley said. “They also had a bunch of time together during our rookie minicamp. Those guys are still going to be around with our rookie development, so they’re going to get more time to work with each other and do the things they need to do.”
During the last OTA, Mills took some snaps behind Taylor and ahead of Driskel. Culley said to not read too much into it.
“That’s part of the competition we’ve wanted to have during this offseason,” he said. “Basically, they’ve been switching it up daily with the reps.
“We don’t have a first team or a second team. We’ve got everybody getting the reps, and basically, what you saw today were his (Mills) rep counts at that time. That’s part of our offseason competition at all positions.”
With so many new players, the Texans used the offseason program as a learning experience. With CBA limitations, players weren’t able to win starting jobs. That’ll happen in training camp when they put on pads and, of course, in three preseason games.
Culley was asked to single out some players who performed well during the program.
“It’s hard to do that during this time,” he said. “That’s what training camp is going to be for. That’s why you’ve seen us go through all our different groups with so many guys at different positions.
“We added a little more this week to see how much they could take. Basically, they’ve done a good job with that. These guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve done it the way we want it done, and I think that’s going to carry over into the training camp. That’s when we’ll find out who’s first team and who’s second team.”
Even though the program was voluntary, Culley was satisfied with the daily attendance. The Texans will likely be underdogs in every game this season, and they’re projected to be the worst team in the league. Culley knows the best way to avoid that distinction requires an across-theboard commitment from the players.
Even when some veterans elected not to participate in practice, they were with their position groups helping the new players, which impressed Culley.
“I expected that simply because the guys Nick brought in understood what winning is all about,” he said. “They understood what we’re trying to do here.
“They’re new to being a Houston Texan. They know in order for us to be successful this time of year, it’s about developing camaraderie (and) developing what a team’s going to be about. They all made the commitment to do this, and I’m happy with that.”