Texans GM Nick Caserio on John Metchie III comeback: 'He's worked really hard'

When Houston Texans receiver John Metchie III steps out onto the field for the regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 10, it will be his first time playing competitive football since December 2021.

Metchie, who tore his ACL in his final game at Alabama, missed the entirety of his rookie campaign after being diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) last July. Now fully recovered, Metchie is ready to make his comeback complete — nearly two years after his journey back to the gridiron began.

Expecting results immediately, however, seems unreasonable given what he’s been through. The Texans and general manager Nick Caserio are understanding of that, and expect to see a better player as the season rolls on.

“He’s worked really hard,” Caserio said Wednesday, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. “He also looks like a football player that hasn’t played in 18 months. Attitude has been good. He’s made some plays. What he’s gone through, he’s a great story. Chance he’s a little bit better six, eight weeks down the road than now.”

John Metchie working way back from injury, illness

Metchie was a standout at Alabama — most notably during his junior season in 2021. He hauled in 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns, making up one-half of one of the best receiving tandems in college football alongside Jameson Williams. Prior to the injury, scouts rated Metchie as a potential first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Texans sent three picks to the Cleveland Browns to trade up and select him 44th overall in the second-round.

He hauled in two receptions for 10 yards during the preseason, sitting out the dress rehearsal before the start of the regular season. Metchie called his first contributions “surreal.”

“It felt great,” Metchie said. “It was a long time coming of course, but it was surreal and a great feeling to be out there with the team, to be out there with the guys and to be back playing football. It’s a good feeling. It’s a really good feeling to see all the support and all the love. Everybody coming up to me and telling me how happy they are to see me back out there. I feel really good, [I’m in] football shape.”