There were a number of improvements in today’s training camp, but an ankle injury to Duane Brown was the day’s biggest news.

1.Early in practice Duane Brown left the field with an ankle injury. He walked off the field on his own power and had his ankle iced before eventually leaving practice for good. Rashad Butler practiced in Brown’s place and Derek Newton practiced at right tackle.

2.Backup cornerback Torri Williams also skipped practice. Darryl Sharpton, Kareem Jackson and Thomas Austin were still out with injuries.

3. Ben Tate had several impressive runs with the first and second teams in seven-on-sevens. Rookie Jonathan Grimes also had another good day taking third team reps.

4. Today was military service day, and several active duty and veteran service members came out to support the Texans.

5. With the exception of the previously mentioned plays from Tate, the first team secondary had a noticeably better performance against the run today. Jonathan Joseph and Danieal Manning were very vocal in their leadership of the secondary.

6. Jeff Maehl continued his good showing from yesterday, and caught the day’s most exciting catch over TJ Yates.

7. Even without Duane Brown,the offensive line looked better in pass-rushing drills than they did yesterday. Rookie Nick Mondek was burned a few time, but as a whole the group improved from yesterday

8. Bryant Johnson took a particularly big hit on a short pass play during seven-on-sevens and had difficulty getting up. He sat out for several reps after the hit, but had no trouble walking and did not seem to be significantly injured.