Texans’ Braxton Berrios finds end zone in first game back from torn ACL last season: ‘I feel great’

MINNEAPOLIS – Once he got open, Braxton Berrios was determined to finish the job as he broke into the clear and caught the football from Texans quarterback Davis Mills with room to run.

In a Saturday preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, Berrios caught the football in stride on a well-designed play called by offensive coordinator Nick Caley. He turned on the jets and lowered his right should to power through a hit at the goal line for a 14-yard touchdown.

“Great play called at a great time,” Berrios said Saturday inside the visitors locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium. “Obviously, Davis found me. They kind of let me loose, found me and finished in the corner. I pride myself on that: making the catch first and then what can you do after that?

“I think the experience I have with special teams, it’s a lot of obviously turning the ball, whether it’s on the turn or whether it is kickoff or turn. So yeah, obviously that’s a hope that I can bring to this team throughout the season. Obviously, on the special teams side, we’ve done that, I think, hope at a high level for a while. So, a lot experience with some playmaking there. And definitely availability and dependability.”

Berrios, 29, a former All-Pro kickoff returner who has 134 career receptions for 1,323 yards and six touchdowns with 3,289 return yards and four rushing touchdowns, caught all three passes thrown to him for 33 yards. He also had a 24-yard kickoff return and a nine-yard punt return.

“Braxton has done it a long time in this league,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He finds a way to get open. He made a lot of nice catches for us today. Also in the return game, he’s very experienced, and you see that experience shows up in game time. So, I’m excited to see him continue to grow. He started off really hot, so I’m excited to see where he goes.”

This marked Berrios’ first football game back since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season while playing for the Miami Dolphins. For the 29-year-old accomplished return man, it was a significant moment.

“Today was obviously the first game I’ve had since October 20, so it’s been a while,” Berrios said. “And coming back from an ACL, there’s ups and there’s downs. There’s a lot of things that you can fight through. There’s the same thing from a mental and emotional as well. So, obviously today was great, getting back out there.

“To me, a long way to go still. I feel great, but it’s going to take time and I’m looking forward to the fact that I think it will only be better than anything else. It was good, man. Obviously you play this game to produce for your team and when you get opportunities like that, that was set up so well by everybody else doing their job, it feels great.”

Berrios has been studying a lot of old tape of the New England Patriots offense, including his former position coach with the Dolphins: retired wide receiver Wes Welker.

“It’s funny,” Berrios said. “I was in Miami last year with Wes Walker, so I saw plenty of New England film. He loved it. He loved to throw himself up there. That’s something that I took a lot of things from.

“When we watched the New England tapes, a lot things from them, you know that’s going back to my rookie year there where, you know I learned a lot there. So I try to take pieces of everybody that I watch and try to add in."

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com