Clowney set to join first preseason practice

It has been almost nine months since Jadeveon Clowney played in a football game. The No. 1 pick of the 2014 NFL Draft will take his first significant steps back Monday.

Clowney is expected to be activated off the physically unable to perform list and go through his first training camp practice with the Texans. If the next month of workouts and preseason contests go as expected, the Rock Hill native should be active for the Texans’ Week 1 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 13 at NRG Stadium.

After an injury-plagued rookie year, the former South Carolina star spent offseason training activities and the initial portion of camp working out on a side field. Monday will mark the first time Clowney has been given a full green light since undergoing season-ending knee surgery in November.

“We’re going to get him back out there, and he’ll be in the walkthroughs,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said Sunday, following his team’s 23-10 preseason-opening victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Houston. “We call it dynamic stretch. He’ll be in that period and then he’ll be in individual period, and we’ll take it from there. And we’ll talk to him every single day, add a little bit more every single day, try to ramp him up as we move through the week to see where he’s at by the end of the week and then evaluate it at the end of the week for the following week.”

Clowney’s often appeared upbeat when seen after his individual workouts. But he hasn’t spoken with the media since camp began and hasn’t publicly addressed the criminal charges surrounding his father, David Morgan, who recently was charged with attempted murder in Rock Hill.

Injuries shadowed the No. 1 pick throughout his rookie year. He was limited during the preseason, then played four regular-season contests (two starts), while totaling seven combined tackles and no sacks. He also struggled to adapt from defensive end to linebacker and will have to continue the transition process during his second pro year.

The Texans have stated many times they plan to bring Clowney back slowly during camp and the initial weeks of the 2015 season. In game situations, he’ll likely be relegated to passing and long-yardage downs, with his sole focus being to rush the passer.

The Texans have been pleased with Clowney’s rehab from microfracture surgery.

“He’s come a long way,” O’Brien said. “He’s worked really hard to get back to where he is right now, and we’re all looking forward to seeing him back out there on the field, because we know he can help us. And so it will be a good day Monday for him to just put the gear on and get back out there.”

With J.J. Watt, newly added veteran nose tackle Vince Wilfork and Jared Crick stacking the Texans’ imposing defensive line, Clowney will face much less pressure than he did during his hyped rookie year.

This story was originally published August 16, 2015 at 8:34 PM.