'What I Dream Of!' Texans' John Metchie 'Patient' in Return to Practice
Houston Texans receiver John Metchie returned to practice on Wednesday after recovering from a preseason hamstring injury, with the 23-year-old revealing a core value that helped him during the few weeks of recovery.
"Patience has definitely been a big thing for me and I've had a lot of practice with it in the last year or so," Metchie told KPRC2's Aaron Wilson. "Knowing that I just have to remain consistent and keep showing up, the time will come and I just have to be ready."
Metchie explained that it "felt great getting back out there," but also revealed that he "can't get too ahead of himself," as his patience stems long before the hamstring injury.
Just a few months before Houston selected Metchie with the 44th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Alabama product tore his ACL in the SEC Championship game.
After showing major improvement from the injury, Metchie suffered another setback that July, when he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, which sidelined him for his entire rookie campaign.
Nevertheless, Metchie relentlessly worked his way back to the gridiron and was "good to go" for the season, until the aforementioned hamstring injury.
Metchie's endurance and determination to play football on Sundays has been tested even before his name was called in the 2022 NFL Draft. His ability to remain patient was crucial in the journey back. But after all he's been through, he revealed in August that football isn't the most important thing in his life.
"Although it's fun and it's what I dreamt of as a kid, there's a lot of bigger things in life and there are a lot of people facing real battles every day and have really bad days," Metchie said. "I guess perspective is the thing I walked away with."
It is uncertain at this time if Metchie will play in the Texans' Week 2 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but his return to practice signifies that we're a little closer to finally seeing him play.
