16 Keke Coutee WR

Coutee (hamstring) was limited in Wednesday's practice.

Coutee was inactive for Houston's season opener due his current hamstring injury. The rookie fourth-rounder has a chance of making his NFL debut against the Titans on Sunday, but Coutee will need to get healthy and fully practice sometime this week.

Coutee, who missed nearly three weeks with a hamstring injury, will be a game-time decision for Thursday's preseason finale against the Cowboys.

"We're just trying to make sure he's ready to go. You never want to put a guy into a National Football League game that might not be full speed," said coach Bill O'Brien. "We'll probably make that decision before the game." Coutee returned to practice last week, and we presumed the 2018 fourth-rounder would play Saturday against the Rams, but that never happened. Apparently, Coutee is not quite over the hamstring injury.

Coutee (hamstring) returned to practice Wednesday, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

Coutee was sidelined for nearly three weeks, essentially missing out on an opportunity to compete for the No. 3 receiver spot, a job that now appears to be firmly in the hands of Bruce Ellington. Given that he's a rookie fourth-round pick, Coutee figures to have a spot on the 53-man roster even if he isn't part of the Week 1 gameplan. Ellington's injury history suggests Coutee and/or Braxton Miller will be needed at some point this season.

Coutee has a strained hamstring and will be out for a few weeks, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

While the injury doesn't sound too serious, it could still be a significant setback for Coutee, who is expected to compete for the No. 3 receiver job with Bruce Ellington and Braxton Miller. The rookie fourth-round pick now figures to miss a sizable portion of training camp and at least one or two preseason games.

Texans receivers coach John Perry said Coutee's biggest challenge is identifying defensive coverage assignments, Mark Lane of USA Today reports. "I keep telling Keke that if he is able to recognize the coverage, there's going to be a lot of people that have a hard time covering him," Perry said. "The reason for that is you need to know who's guarding you. If you don't know that, then you can't beat him."

Perry said reading coverage is typically the biggest transition for receivers coming out of college, with teams throwing multiple coverages and blitzes at offenses. Coutee, the fourth-round selection out of Texas Tech, has caught the eye of the most important members of the roster during his first week of camp. Earlier this week, it was DeAndre Hopkins, per the Houston Chronicle, then it was quarterback Deshaun Watson during Thursday's session. Coutee is making a push to be the top slot receiver, but is in a battle with Braxton Miller.