The Houston Texans are getting back to an exercise that was a staple of training camp prior to 2020.
Houston will have joint practices during training camp with the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints ahead of their respective preseason games.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans values the joint practices as they provide an opportunity to give his players different faces and schemes to go against after weeks of competing internally.
“The thought process behind joint practices just as a team, I think it’s great when you can just go against something different, see different plays,” Ryans told reporters on May 31 during organized team activities. “When you go against each other in training camp, you kind of get used to knowing what plays the offense is running, you know the defenses that you’re going to see. So, when you can break up that monotony in camp and go against someone else and get different looks, get different players to go against, it just helps you as a player to expand as a player, become a better player going against different.”
The joint practices also provide a better opportunity for first-teams to go against each other in a controlled environment not associated with preseason games.
Said Ryans: “You may have different tails, different techniques that you have to use versus these guys. It’s just good competition all the way across the board going against another team.”
In addition to the rest of the team, Houston’s rookies and younger players will get valuable experience going against the rest of the NFL, even if it is in a practice setting.
Nevertheless, the overall team-building that comes with joint practices is what intrigues Ryans.
“Doesn’t really matter, young players, older players, it really doesn’t matter,” said Ryans. “I think it’s just good collectively as a team when you can go out and compete against someone else.”
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Story originally appeared on Texans Wire