Andre Johnson Returns to Practice with Houston Texans

Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson, left tackle Duane Brown and cornerback Kareem Jackson all returned to the practice field from injuries Monday morning.

Johnson returned to action after suffering a groin injury last Sunday on the second day of training camp.

The All-Pro wideout took about 20 reps but his status for Saturday’s preseason opener at Carolina remains up in the air.

The Texans appear as if they’re going to monitor Johnson’s snaps very closely to not to rush his return to full-speed and risk re-injury.

“We put a play count on him, so we’re going to do that as the week goes on,” Kubiak said, in comments distributed by the team. ”It’s about getting him going again and not expecting him to go the full bore on the first day out.  I thought he held up well, and we’ll move forward tomorrow.”

Johnson, who turned 31 in July, missed nine regular-season games last season with hamstring injuries and was sidelined from the first organized team activities in the spring after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Brown, who suffered a bone bruise in his left ankle last Wednesday, took his full allotment of repetitions at Monday’s practice. Jackson, who had been out since last Sunday with a sore left hamstring, took half of his normal reps.

Rookie defensive end Jared Crick did not practice Monday as he continued to monitor a neck issue that’s kept him out since late last week.