We’re no closer to knowing whether or not Andre Johnson will make his return from hamstring surgery against the Browns.
The Texans held Johnson out of practice on Wednesday because he was sore after a workout on Monday. Kubiak downplayed the development, saying that it did not rule out anything for the weekend.
“We’re still in a day-to-day process,” Kubiak said. “But I think every day, it tells us something. If he feels good, then we come and we get going again. If he doesn’t, then hey, hold on. It’s not ready yet. We’re just going to continue to listen, but everything’s still positive. We just gave him a day off.”
The team expects to have Johnson practicing in a limited capacity on Thursday, but that’s obviously subject to change. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, in an interview with the Akron Beacon-Journal previewing the Texans, says that neither the team nor the player “have a clue right now” about the outlook for Johnson’s recovery.
If Johnson isn’t able to play this week, it might make sense for the Texans to just shelve any thought about a return until after their bye in Week 11. That’s not an ideal scenario, obviously, but it would likely ensure that he’s 100 percent when he gets back on the field and at a lower risk of reinjuring himself. The experience with Arian Foster earlier this season should make them shy away from rushing anything with such an important player.