Brennan

Williams

A Saturday afternoon MRI confirmed Williams won’t need surgery. Williams could be shaky for OTAs, but is in no danger of missing minicamp or training camp. Williams is expected to compete for the right tackle job with incumbent Derek Newton.

Both players missed all of OTAs. Newton underwent offseason patella tendon surgery, and Williams “tweaked” his knee during rookie minicamp. Veteran Ryan Harris has been getting the first-team right tackle reps in their absence, but one of Newton or Williams is expected to open the season as the starter.

Williams wasn’t expected to be sidelined long, but is now looking shaky for minicamp. He should be ready for training camp, where he’ll push incumbent RT Derek Newton. Newton is still recovering from patellar tendon surgery. If the season started today, the Texans would roll with Ryan Harris at right tackle.

Inconsistent incumbent Derek Newton is coming off patellar tendon surgery, but is due back by camp. 6-foot-6, 318 with 34-inch arms, Williams has ideal length, build, and athleticism for Houston’s zone-run scheme but needs a lot of technique work. The Texans’ right tackle job will be an open camp competition.

The Texans get a developmental prospect who could eventually push RT Derek Newton. Williams (6-foot-6, 318) started 22 games at right tackle for the Tar Heels before a torn labrum (shoulder) cut his senior year four contests short. Williams has 34-inch arms and plus athleticism, running a 5.20 forty at his Pro Day with a 28.5-inch vertical. Smart (35 Wonderlic score) and offering upside, CBS Sports draft analyst Rob Rang has suggested Williams could prove a better NFL than college tackle.

Newton underwent patellar tendon surgery after the season. It’s a serious injury, but not nearly as serious as a ligament tear. Still, it’s a chance for third-round rookie Brennan Williams to get a leg up as the two battle for the starting right tackle job.

Micofracture is typically a career-clouding surgery, but the 2013 third-rounder has youth and time on his side. He has 11 months to get healthy for next summer’s training camp. The Texans had been hopeful Williams would push RT Derek Newton for a starting job, but now there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to do so even next season. It’s worth noting Williams’ microfracture was not on the same knee that troubled him all offseason. So he’s now dealing with two suspect knees. Not good.

A third-round pick, Williams missed all of OTAs and training camp recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, and has yet to be cleared for practice. Derek Newton will open the season as the Texans’ starting right tackle. It’s a trouble spot for Houston.

An initial MRI indicated Williams didn’t need surgery, but he later had the scope. The injury will likely knock Williams out of consideration for the right tackle job. Manned by Derek Newton in 2012, it’s Houston’s biggest weakness.

“I’ll be back on the field for spring,” Williams said. “I’m really looking forward to it because I haven’t been healthy in, I dunno, two years now. So just to be able to be at my full capacity, be able to go out there and be myself is really exciting.” Williams underwent shoulder surgery as a senior at North Carolina before missing his entire rookie season after micro fracture surgery. He could eventually push RT Derek Newton in Houston.