THE FOCUS OF TEXANS coach Bill O’Brien’s Friday meeting with the press was mostly on the one player who has yet to show up: defensive end/linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
Clowney, who has held out in hopes of a new contract, has been the subject of trade rumors, with the Dolphins and Eagles among the teams interested in the elite pass rusher.
“Again, any time he wants to come in and sign for the tender, we can sit down and go through all those things,” said O’Brien. “Again, it’s about what’s best for the team. So, right now, having these conversations, they can’t even take place because he has to come in and sign the tender.”
O’Brien, who also handling general manager responsibilities, continued to stress that bringing Clowney back would depend on “what is best for the team.”
The GM side of O’Brien will have to be at work throughout the weekend as the Texans get down to the required 53-man roster by Saturday evening. Finding a backup to quarterback Deshaun Watson will be high on the list after Joe Webb sustained what O’Brien described as a “significant” foot injury in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Rams.
“I think we’re talking about that,” he said. “We have to figure that out. We’ll see what happens over the next couple days but that’s definitely part of our conversation.”
O’Brien also felt confident that receiver Will Fuller V will be available for the September 9 regular season opener at the Saints. “He’s had a good camp,” O’Brien said of Fuller, who caught 32 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns last season before an ACL injury knocked him out in late October.
