So far. http://houstonprofootball.com/ Joppru Survives First Day of OTAs Sure, there were plenty of noteworthy firsts on the Texans practice field Tuesday. The initial organized team activity, or "OTA", was the first time new head coach Gary Kubiak put his team through the motions on a football field instead of a meeting room. It was also the debut of first overall pick Mario Williams in a practice. But here's the really big news: long-suffering tight end Bennie Joppru participated throughout the entire voluntary workout and escaped without suffering a season-ending injury. Joppru, entering his fourth season since being selected by the Texans in the second round of the 2003 draft, has suffered an annual injury before the first preseason game every year. He is making yet another attempt at a recovery, this time from a torn ACL in his right knee. Joppru has also suffered severe groin injuries in the past that have kept him out of earlier seasons. So good news for Joppru, especially since word from Tuesday's practice indicated that the tight ends were very involved in downfield passing drills, much moreso than in recent seasons. As for Kubiak and Williams, mark their first day together on the field as a positive one, hopefully the first of many more to come. "He stopped a lot of our plays," Kubiak said of Williams afterward. "He did a good job. To hop in there day one with the starters and go, that's a lot to ask. It looks like he did a fine job to me."
The guy is cursed...I hope it doesn't happen, but I will be pleasantly surprized if he doesn't go down for the season in training camp or in an exhibition game.
I hope he slowly gets worked back in. The guy has had some major bad luck every time he gets close to coming. I doubt they rush him since they just signed Putzier who has proven to be a decent TE option in Denver.
June 6th. Seriously, though, I would love to see this guy play for us. I was super excited when we drafted him. I thought maybe we'd have a pro bowl tight end. It kind of sucks that he's had the injury bug, and had it bad. Last I heard, though, I thought he retired? I'm just glad to hear that the guy is still trying, and I wish him all the best.
