During the Houston Texans' fourth day of training camp yesterday morning, All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. seemingly avoided what initially looked like a sure concussion during team drills.
During a passing attempt by quarterback C.J. Stroud and the first-team offense, linebacker Henry To'oTo'o and Stingley collided when they both tried stopping wide receiver Jared Wayne from making a play on the football. Stingley got the worst of it, as To'oTo'o's shoulder rammed right into Stingley's helmet, which then ricocheted right into the turf afterward.
Initially, all of his teammates got on a knee and the crowd sat in momentary stunned silence as the training staff went to check on Stingley's condition. After about a minute or so, Stingley was helped off the turf and into the blue medical tent for further evaluation. It was then that Texans fans were left wondering about whether or not this would be the last that they'd see of Stingley for the duration of practice. Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to get an answer.
The Houston Texans seemingly dodged a Derek Stingley concussion in practice
On the next series for the first-teamers, Stingley was seen back on the field of play and ready to re-engage in the practice session. That brought calm to the stands, as it showed that Stingley apparently avoided what looked like a surefire concussion at the hands of friendly fire between him and To'oTo'o.
What might've helped was the fact that Stingley donned the situationally-league-mandated Guardian Cap for the duration of practice, which was popularized in Houston --and around the NFL-- by fellow defensive back Jalen Pitre last season. Regardless of how he avoided though, it was great to see that the 25-year-old former LSU Tiger was fit to continue participating in the session without much time missed due to the incident.
The collision itself was somewhat emblematic of the kind of tone that the defense as a whole set early on in practice, which was that of efficiency, dominance and tenacity at the point of contact with the offense.
The Houston Texans' defenders were the aggressors on the day
From the very first snap of team drills, Houston's defense made it a point to disrupt every attempt by the offense to move a single inch on the football field. That included multiple "sacks" of quarterback C.J. Stroud, an interception of backup quarterback Davis Mills, multiple pass break-ups and sprinting to the football in pursuit of whomever might've caught it on that particular play. That level of aggression sometimes can lead to incidental contact, and on this day it was Stingley who drew the short end of that stick.
Fortunately, the team gets it keep its top-two rated cornerback in the fold for the time being.
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