WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – One of the first things new general manager Brian Gaine addressed on the eve of his first training camp in charge of personnel, was the status of second year quarterback Deshaun Watson in regards to his health.
“He’s cleared and ready to go," said Gaine of Watson.
Watson saw action in the first seven games of the 2017 season as a rookie before tearing the ACL in his right knee in practice. That came following a sensational game at Seattle in which he threw for a career-best 402 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for 67 yards.
With that positive news from Gaine, it's now a matter of how the Texans can keep him healthy as the team goes through training camp and their four preseason games in preparation for the 2018 season.
"We’ll be efficient. We’ll be smart," Gaine added when speaking vaguely about the plan for Watson.
"We’ll be productive at the same time, but he’s full-go, ready to go. Just have to be smart about it.”
Watson played in just seven games as a rookie, but was nothing short of spectacular, accounting for a record 21 touchdowns in his first seven NFL games.
Last Thursday, while attending the American Flag Football Championship in Houston at BBVA Compass stadium, Watson interestingly uttered almost the exact same words as Gaine when talking about his readiness for the season.
"I feel great," Watson said during a pregame interview with NFL Network.
"I'm getting ready for next week when we report to The Greenbrier (for training camp)," he said. "I'm going to be full-go."
The team has the first of their 11 practices in West Virginia on Thursday morning.