Clowney will have limited reps in season opener

Jadeveon Clowney will play in the Houston Texans’ season opener on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he will not start and his reps will be limited, coach Bill O’Brien said Monday.

“I like where Clowney’s at coming back from that injury,” O’Brien told the Houston Chronicle. “We’ve got to put a pitch count on him. I’m not sure what that is yet.”

Last year, Clowney, the former South Carolina star who was the Texans’ No. 1 pick in 2014, tore his meniscus in his regular-season debut. After returning later in the season, Clowney suffered another knee injury.

He played in four games and is coming off microfracture surgery on his right knee.

O’Brien also praised Clowney’s football intelligence, saying that whenever linebackers coach Mike Vrabel tests him, he’s got the answers.

“When he fires questions at Jadeveon, the guy knows the answers,” O’Brien told the Texans website. “Our defense, it’s not always the easiest thing to pick that thing up, especially when you’re not practicing. Clearly, he has good football intelligence.”

Clowney has been practicing, but he didn’t play in a preseason game.

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 10:53 AM.