Darryl Sharpton determined to move past injuries

DarrylSharpton
By the end of the conversation, Darryl Sharpton was a little bit cautious.

On one hand, he was confident that he’ll stay healthy this season and play 16 games for the first time in his NFL career.

On the other hand, he didn’t want to jinx himself.

Sharpton spoke with me about his journey, the doubt that sometimes crept into his mind and ultimately the confidence he found in his own body, finally healthy this offseason. You can read about some of the proactive steps Sharpton took to help his body stay healthy there.

I asked Sharpton what he’s most looking forward to about being healthy.

“Honestly, the true answer from my heart is I’m just looking forward to hitting somebody,” Sharpton said. “That’s my favorite part of the game, that element of it. that’s pretty much the main thing I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to a huge season and our No. 1 goal this year is obviously to win the Super Bowl. That’s like the big picture thing. More immediate goal, I’m just looking forward to getting back on the field and playing football. Offseason’s long, just getting that itch.”

Sharpton’s health will be a big key for the Texans’ defense. They’ve played Brooks Reed at inside linebacker instead of outside linebacker quite a bit this offseason, but that appears to be a safety net to give the Texans a little bit more depth inside with both starting inside linebackers coming off injuries.
Reed talked last month about the progress of the Texans’ rookie outside linebackers impacting whether or not he’d move inside. Right now, they’re still learning, and the Texans’ strongest linebacker lineup is Brian Cushing  and Sharpton inside with Reed and Whitney Mercilus outside. If Cushing doesn’t have any setbacks in his ACL recovery, and Sharpton does indeed stay healthy, they’d likely not need Reed to move inside.


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(chron.com)
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