ESPN's D.J. Bien-Aime reported that the sixth-year right tackle entered the blue medical tent and left practice on a cart. Bien-Aime, following the Texans for a short training camp stint outside of Cleveland, Ohio, observed that Howard "looked fine leaving on the cart."
The team hasn't said what happened to Howard as of Tuesday afternoon. Howard dispute the reports on X, formerly Twitter.
"Dang I thought I walked off the field," Howard posted.
The 28-year-old former first-round draft pick returned to the Texans' lineup this offseason after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 12 last season. Before that, in September, he had also suffered a broken hand during practice, landing him on the injured reserve.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 322-pound lineman has started in 61 games since his 2019 rookie season but encountered multiple stints on the injured reserve.
He started eight games as a rookie before landing on the IR in November 2019. Howard started the first 14 games of his sophomore 2020 season before another IR stint in December.
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Howard started 15 and 17 games in the following 2021 and 2022 seasons, respectively. Houston picked up his fifth-year option before the 2022 season, and ahead of that fifth year, Howard agreed to a three-year, $56 million extension that kicks in this coming season.
The Texans have prioritized protecting second-year star quarterback C.J. Stroud. The team signed 10-year tackle Cameron Erving this week after selecting Notre Dame's Blake Fisher in the draft for depth on the offensive line.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans plans to have the starters play in their next preseason game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
"I truly believe that a guy needs to get reps in a preseason game. We don't go to the ground as you see the way we practice. We try to keep guys up and be as safe as possible in practice. I think everybody needs the opportunity to go to the ground a couple of times in the game, then get up and dust yourself off and just know you're good," Ryans said on Monday. "So you just have to go through and play live reps in football before live action comes in September. So you'll see our [starters] go out and get reps this week versus Pittsburgh."
ABC13 is your home for Houston Texans preseason football. Catch the defending AFC South champions face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. Coverage begins at 6 p.m.
ESPN's D.J. Bien-Aime contributed to this report.
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