The Houston Texans’ training camp is winding down and with only four more real days of training camp the preseason is close to hitting the halfway point.

Camp Notes

- It was one of the hottest days out on the field today and the players were feeling every second of it. The heat slowed the pace of practice and the players looked tired after a short break from the Friday night game.

- With Schaub out, T.J. Yates and Case Keenum got all the work today with both first and second team units on offense. Despite the ongoing quarterback competition for the backup job, both had days they would like to soon forget. Passes were erratic which led to some poor footballs for the receivers to handle.

- Running back Dennis Johnson looked good during the early part of training camp when he made it look easy. Now it looks like he is thinking too much on the field, trying to find his way with his reads from the play developing in front of him. He seems to have forgotten to plant his foot and get up field to the linebackers. Now he is more of a side to side runner and he is not getting into the line of scrimmage like he needs to.

- Outside linebacker Bryan Braman showed some life and today was his best practice of training camp. This is important for him to get going and help this team on defense or in any way possible. Braman has had a slow start to camp and looked good in certain spots during the preseason game. With a thin outside linebacker group, Braman needs to put his best foot forward and build off his good practice.

- Texans newly signed inside linebacker Elliot Coffey was at practice but was doing more learning than anything.

- This ended up being Jeff Maehl’s last practice in Houston, he was traded to Philadelphia later in the day.

Injury Update

- Matt Schaub was excused from practice for a death in the family and Brian Cushing is recovering from an illness. Cushing is scheduled to make his debut on Saturday against the Miami Dolphins if all goes according to plan.

- Rookie outside linebacker Sam Montgomery was a full go at practice today and he was already popping some pads. He would of had one sack today when he beat the offensive tackle around the corner and ran through the block from the running back. He will be ready to go for the Dolphins on Saturday, but how much playing time he gets will be another topic.

- Rookie wide receiver Alan Bonner will be out for another week due to a hamstring injury suffered before the Minnesota game.

- Starting left guard Wade Smith is having issues with his knee and he is being evaluated further to determine the extent of his knee issue.

- Inside linebacker Cameron Collins returned to camp after a hamstring injury kept him out until today. Collins was looking solid before the injury and he should push to stay on this team in some form.

- Defensive end Delano Johnson should return tomorrow. Johnson has been out for over a week due to a groin issue suffered in pass pro drills.

You can follow Patrick on Twitter.  He is the Editor of State of the Texans.