For the third time in training camp, coach Gary Kubiak received a scare as one of his star players had to leave practice early. First it was Andre Johnson (groin) on Sunday and then Duane Brown (lower leg bruise) on Wednesday. This time, it was DE J.J. Watt, who suffered a dislocated left elbow during the morning practice Thursday.

Kubiak told reporters after Thursday afternoon’s practice that he does not expect the injury to cost Watt any time in the regular season.

“Well, we dodged another bullet,” Kubiak said. “He dislocated his [left] elbow. All the tests came back good and, obviously, he’s going to miss some time, but he’s going to be ready to go. And knowing J.J., it’s going to be pretty darn quick. So we’re very, very fortunate. He was already in there rehabbing already when I walked over to practice.”

As was the case with Johnson and Brown, Kubiak said there is no rush to get Watt back on the field.

“I think we know he’s going to miss some time now,” Kubiak said. “What is that? Ten days? Two weeks? I’m not putting a table on that. The fact is we know he’s going to be ready to go once the season gets started. We’ll see where we’re at in this process, preseason process, and see if he’s ready for some time out there. Or do we continue to be cautious up till opening day? But the great news is he’s going to be fine. He’ll be ready to go.”

Watt had an excellent rookie year with 5.5 sacks in the regular season. He played even better in the playoffs, with 3.5 sacks in two games. Watt also returned an interception for a touchdown in the playoffs against Cincinnati.

“The key is that he’s there at noon on Sept. 9, and we know he’s going to be there,” Kubiak said. “We’ll get the rehab process going, make sure we keep his conditioning level up and move forward.”

Quick Hits

  • Brian Cushing is one of the best ILBs in football, something not lost on defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. “Brian Cushing is a really good football player, great football player,” Phillips told reporters. “We coached the Pro Bowl last year as coaches, and there weren’t any inside backers that were any better than him.”
  • DE Antonio Smith is not worried about the offensive line as it retools on the right side. “As far as our offensive line, they did a dang good job last year, and they’re going to do a dang good job this year,” Smith told reporters. “We’ve got a good group of boys in. I don’t think it’s going to fall off.”
  • QB T.J. Yates was thrust into a starting role last year. He learned from the experience. “You can look at plays on paper as much as you want, but until you go into the game, and you do the plays under fire, that’s the best experience you can get,” Yates told reporters. “I was fortunate enough to get that last year. You come in here and you’re going against the number one defense and everything’s not as fast. Everything slows down and that’s made me a lot more comfortable.

Follow Texans blogger Sean Bielawski on Twitter, @CBSSportsNFLHOU.