Texans Rookie Cornerback Kicked Out of Joint Practice for Going Too Hard
Bill O'Brien can go into this season knowing he has a young cornerback who wants to tackle.
Maybe, a little too much though.
Rookie Lonnie Johnson Jr. was ready to hit anybody Monday and show he belongs on the field at the highest level. The problem? It was practice and nobody else was going as hard as the second-round pick out of Kentucky because it was a non-tackle portion of practice.
In a joint practice with the Packers, the Texans rookie decided to show off just how aggressive he can be on defense and level some hits on Green Bay receivers. And it got him kicked out of practice.
Johnson's first Jacked Up moment came when Packers rookie tight end Jace Sternberger ended up on the wrong end of a hit and had his helmet knocked off. And he then had to be evaluated for a concussion. Luckily, he was able to return to the field though.
But to make things worse, Johnson flexed over Sternberger after delivering the hit.
After that, Johnson went on to deliver another big blow to wide receiver Trevor Davis on a kickoff. That hit got him booted from practice by his coach.
O'Brien went on to say it was "not a big deal," according to Chris Bumbaca of USA Today, but the Packers felt a bit differently.
Davante Adams said it was "unnecessary," according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
"You've got plenty of time for that," Adams said. "You can do it in the games and you get fined. Be a coward when you do stuff like that in practice, it's not a good look. We take care of each other up here. I don't know how they practice, I don't know what they do over there, but there's consequences for stuff like that."
Green Bay coach Matt LeFleur said, "I thought there was no place for that."
Johnson posted and then eventually deleted a picture of the hit on Sternberger and he also tweeted about the incident.
Johnson may just want to be great, but he has to know that there are some times when you can't hit somebody, even on the football field.
Hopefully, the rookie learns from this moment and doesn't inflict any more gratuitous hits on players. But it would be great if he kept this same energy in games because nobody is going to be ready to see a cornerback eager to tackle.
