Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil has missed the first two days of training camp for the Houston Texans. Thursday morning, there was a slight concern when Tunsil was a non-participant at the Houston Methodist Training Center. But despite his absence, coach DeMeco Ryans vowed that Tunsil would be ready by the start of the regular season.

Tunsil’s absence has allowed the Texans to receive an early look at rookie offensive lineman Blake Fisher. He has played alongside the presumed starters during team scrimmages. Despite being a rookie who has faced Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., Fisher has held his own against his established peers.

“When it comes to Laremy [Tunsil], we have guys who will be on different schedules throughout camp, so there will be guys you won’t see out,” Ryans said. But everybody is on track for the season opener. That’s what this is all about, getting guys ready to go when we kick off the season opener.”

“With Blake, I’ve seen a guy who been versatile. If you can play left and right tackle, it helps, especially if you are our third tackle. You never know what may happen on gameday, as you saw with our offensive line last year.”

The Texans made a surprising move on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting Fisher with their No. 59 selection.

Fisher established himself as a second-round prospect during his three-year career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He had appeared in 13 games during the 2023 collegiate season, posting an overall grade of 72.3 amid 13 games for Notre Dame, per Pro Football Focus. He finished the season with a pass-blocking grade of 72.5.

Fisher’s selection was surprising, given that the Texans have two veteran offensive tackles in Tunsil and Tytus Howard. However, Houston’s selection of Fisher was more for insurance purposes.

Injuries during the 2023 season hampered the Texans’ offensive line. Howard missed all but seven games due to a season-ending knee injury sustained in November. Although Tunsil registered his fourth Pro Bowl selection in five seasons, the veteran offensive lineman played through his respective knee injury. He underwent a minor procedure during the offseason.

If Howard and Tunsil are healthy, Fisher will spend the bulk of his rookie year learning the game on a pro level as a reserve. However, the first two days of training camp have proven that the Texans have a solid contingency plan if Fisher is needed in 2024.

“We had a lot of guys in a lot of different places,” Ryans said. “For Blake, having that versatility and being able to play on the right side and also move over to the left is only going to strengthen our offensive line group and it’s only going to help our team with what he’s been able to do.”