Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was not at practice on Friday, which came as a surprise since he was not on the injury report at all this week.
As it turns out, an injury was not the reason why Hopkins was missing from the session. Coach Bill O’Brien said after practice that Hopkins took a “personal day” and added that Hopkins is fine.
“I would tell you he’ll be here [for the game],” O’Brien said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. “If something changes, we’ll let you know.”
O’Brien was asked if Hopkins’ absence was related to Texans owner Bob McNair saying the league “can’t have the inmates running the prison” in reference to player protests during a conversation about the protests and the national anthem at recent league meetings, phrasing that McNair apologized for in the room and in a public statement on Friday. O’Brien declined comment on the specific reason why Hopkins took a personal day, saying only that “a couple of guys” needed to take care of some things.
McNair’s comment was the subject of several questions during O’Brien’s press conference and O’Brien said it’s been addressed with the players while adding that he’s “100 percent” behind his players.
