Rumors of Judon and Mills and Missing on Simmons as Training Camp Practice is Light

The lightest workout yet allows for some other topics to take the forefront

The Houston Texans had their lightest practice of training camp on Thursday. It was a mostly walkthrough atmosphere with a lot of work emphasizing the execution and installation of plays.

I do not have 11 observations from this workout since it wasn’t a traditional practice. There is still plenty to discuss surrounding this Texans team and you still will get 11 items.

Let’s get started.

1. According to ESPN, the Texans checked in on Patriots pass rusher Matthew Judon. New England ultimately traded the disgruntled defender to the Atlanta Falcons for a pick in the third round. I would not have done this deal if I was the Texans. It makes sense for Atlanta. Judon wouldn’t have had a starting spot here nor do I believe he would have been extended. How would he have been happy? Perhaps a winning team would have smoothed some things over but a mid-round pick could be better utilized when the Texans need something perhaps midseason.

2. The chasing of Judon doesn’t impact my feelings about Will Anderson’s injury. Anderson didn’t practice in the light workout on Thursday either. He will be out for over two weeks by the time the next practice comes around. If he misses the joint practice with the Rams and doesn’t practice at all next week, I will have a slight worry. Even then, there will be another two weeks for Anderson before the team plays in the regular season. It’s on the radar, but the chances this ends up being something long-term is low.

3. Davis Mills didn’t practice fully yesterday and didn’t practice today for the Texans. I don’t believe trading Mills makes sense. It seems popular to connect him to the Minnesota Vikings after they saw their top draft pick J.J. McCarthy lose his rookie season due to a knee injury. Their system, while different, is in the same family as the one the Texans have. Sam Darnold is terrible and won’t hold that job for the whole season. How do the Texans benefit? Mills isn’t fetching a top pick. Maybe he gets a mid-round return. Then the Texans would be left with Case Keenum or Tim Boyle as the backup. That isn’t good enough this year. Sure, plans change, but the plan this preseason has been for Mills to be the backup. It would need to be a mighty impressive draft pick to pry Mills away.

4. The Vikings don’t have all their picks next season either. Minnesota has already traded their second (to Houston), third (to Jacksonville), and fourth (to Jacksonville) in the 2025 draft. So the haul is a pick in the fifth or a 2026 selection? Not for a backup I believe can fulfill the backup quarterback standard.

5. My backup quarterback standard is simple. If the team is missing their starter for a month, can you realistically see that backup splitting the four games? Most teams wouldn’t be derailed by a .500 month of football. I can envision Mills doing that. I can’t envision Keenum or Boyle. I trust Keenum’s mind but his ability to make every throw you would need, with the crispness necessary, is my concern. Boyle has been bad when he has played sporting four touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Mills can get this team two wins in four games if he had to fill in. Hopefully, this is a moot point and he never sees the field unless the Texans are up big.

6. Free agent safety Justin Simmons is headed to the Atlanta Falcons. He gets a one-year deal worth $8 million. This is kinda steep, even with the cap space in Houston. Houston has about $20 million but with the operating costs of a season, and if you need to make a trade at the deadline, $8 million seems like a lot. The Texans never seemed inclined to go with Simmons instead opting for the return of Jimmie Ward, Jalen Pitre, Eric Murray, and M.J. Stewart coupled with the drafting of Calen Bullock. This is certainly an area where six weeks in we could be lamenting not doing more. Pitre played poorly last season and has new responsibilities this year and the other three returners have injury histories. I was in favor of adding Simmons to this team, but DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio seem content with their guys. They could have budgeted for this, but they didn’t. Ryans has earned plenty of benefit of the doubt with who he trusts to execute on defense.

7. Defensive coordinator Matt Burke has seen what you would expect from Stefon Diggs. “Just the – he’s such a – the precision route running and then the understanding of leverage and stuff in terms of getting open and he’s got wicked hands, like wicked hands. The ball’s in his vicinity, he can snatch it. So, I mean you couple that with, obviously the energy and the emotion he brings and you guys saw it out there today, the little back and forth we had going. It’s cool for us to be able to compete against him in a controlled environment where it doesn’t necessarily count on Sunday.”

8. Ka’imi Fairbairn was booming kicks inside the stadium for practice. I didn’t see a miss in this workout. He has missed a field goal in each of his two preseason appearances. Special teams coordinator Frank Ross mentioned he emphasized to his kicker that Fairbairn needed to be “laser-focused” no matter the time or situation for his kicking. I feel like Fairbairn’s leg is in great shape heading into the season and I would trust him indoors from over 50 yards out inside in a regular season game.

9. I would play Kamari Lassiter in the preseason game. It is the lone opportunity before the regular season to get the rookie some work where he could be blocked for real or take someone to the ground with a tackle. Lassiter had an “interception” in the light workout Thursday. I put it in quotes because it was in no way a live rep. It was slightly above walkthrough speed. Not even a full one-on-one drill. I don’t count it.

10. DeMeco Ryans said he doesn’t care about showing things in the preseason. He said he’s not scared to show something. His focus is on his team and his guys getting better. Ryans said he puts his players in situations to see what they can handle. He doesn’t worry about the other team, they can go watch the film and see what the Texans do. I loved this quote.

11. I don’t know what the future holds for Max Tooley, but I hope it isn’t a barbershop. The undrafted free-agent linebacker was my favorite among the undrafted players. It will be hard to see him on the practice squad, but not impossible. I hope he sticks around, and so does his mullet.

    

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I expect most starters to play, with maybe the offensive line being held back a little. Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard, and Shaq Mason haven’t had a full practice together yet so they might not roll in the game. I’d think about three series should do it with the joint practice against the Rams a few days later. Joint practices are almost like a preseason game with the amount of work a team gets.