Linebacker Christian Harris made 101 tackles and led the Houston Texans in solo stops with 65 in the 2023 NFL regular season, then recorded 15 tackles, one sack and an interception-return touchdown in two playoff games.

But in 2024, a calf injury limited the former Alabama standout to three regular-season games and two playoff appearances. The injury kept Harris from starting training camp on time last month. After joining the team drills on Aug. 6, Harris sat out the Texans’ first two preseason games.

On Saturday, Houston had Harris in its starting lineup for its preseason finale. Harris made two tackles while on the field for 13 defensive snaps in the Texans’ 26-7 victory over the Detroit Lions.

“It’s night and day, man,” Harris said about getting to play again. “It’s a blessing to be out here, put the pads on, be with the guys, warm up and do everything that’s involved with game day, so it’s truly a blessing.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said the team wanted to get Harris and running back Dameon Pierce some game action before the regular season kicks off. Coming back from a quadriceps injury, Pierce had seven rushing attempts against Detroit.

“I feel like guys need to have those live reps, especially when you come back from injury,” Ryans said after Saturday’s game. “That mental hurdle when you come back from injury is you have to hit the ground, you have to get up, dust yourself off and know, like, ‘I’m OK. I’m back.’ And before you take that step, it’s still in your mind. It still plays in your mind: Are you all the way healthy? Are you all the way back?

“So that was the importance of today for Christian and for Dameon is to get them some live reps. They took advantage of it, and they did a good job with it.”

Harris said much of his rehabilitation work had been intended to prevent a reoccurrence of his injury.

“It’s a tricky situation having a calf,” Harris said. “Whenever you feel like you’re all the way back, sometimes it’s not really the case. You’ve got to make sure you check everything on the list.”

The Houston depth chart lists Harris as a second-team linebacker behind starters Henry To’oTo’o and Azeez Al-Shaair.

In his rookie season in 2023, To’oTo’o made 40 fewer tackles than Harris. In 2024 with Harris missing for most of the season, To’oTo’o’s tackle total jumped to 105.

Harris and To’oTo’o were teammates at Alabama in 2021. The Texans drafted Harris in the third round in 2022 and To’oTo’o in the fifth round in 2023.

“It’s awesome to see him grow,” Harris said of To’oTo’o. “I’ve been knowing him as a dog since high school. I met him at the All-American game. Like I said, it’s been a long time ago I’ve been knowing him as a dog. I’m glad to see everybody catching on to it. I’m just excited to see him continue to grow.”

The Texans kick off their 17-game regular-season schedule against the Los Angeles Rams at 3:25 p.m. CDT Sept. 7 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

“Put me out there,” Harris said, “and I’m going to go get it.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

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