HOUSTON -- If Jadeveon Clowney plays this weekend in Tennessee (which is looking very likely), the Houston Texans will probably use him on third downs to rush the passer.

Watch out Zach Mettenberger. (Though Clowney did not sack Mettenberger when he faced him in 2012)

"You can put him in on third down and just rush the passer with him and see how that goes," defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. "That's what we've talked about that defensively and that's what it would be the head coach says okay."

Texans coach Bill O'Brien did his usual "Dr. Clowney" bit when told Clowney said he felt ready to go. He did sound optimistic about Clowney's chances to play and said he's getting better every day.

Clowney participated in a fully padded practice today. He was listed as limited on the injury report.

He talked about the fact that his knee will bother him a little bit, but it's something he has to push through. I asked O'Brien if the injury, at this stage in its recovery, was one that could get worse if he played on it.

"Any guy in that locker room that’s played a good deal of football is always going to have soreness especially in their joints," O'Brien said. "Whether ankle joint, knee joint, elbow joint or hip joint. Whatever it is, there’s going to be some level of soreness, especially after a physical practice or a physical game. We’re always concerned for the player. The player’s health is No. 1 in our mind. [But] we’re never overly cautious about it because we know that there’s soreness involved in the sport."

So can a rookie who hasn't been through this before confuse pain from an injury with pain from football?

"I think all rookies go through that," O'Brien said. "When you’re playing in college and you have to go to class and you have afternoon meetings and you practice. And then you go to study hall and then you have all these different things going on as opposed to the NFL where you have all day to meet, watch film, take care of your bodies in different ways ...

"Rookies we try to teach them about that. Some of them catch on right away, some don’t. I’m not putting Clowney in any category. A younger player has to really learn how to understand his body and understand how to take care of it as he goes through his rookie year."