Sources: Texans Held In-Person Offseason Workouts Despite NFL's COVID-19 Policies

This spring, small groups of Texans players gathered for workouts at the home of the team's head strength and conditioning coach.

This spring, members of the Texans took part in workouts at the home of head strength and conditioning coach Mike Eubanks despite the NFL's order to conduct all offseason programs virtually, multiple people with direct knowledge of the workouts told Sports Illustrated's Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop. 

The workouts, supervised by coaches in team apparel, involved players lifting together on a covered back patio with squat racks and barbells that had been transported from Houston's NRG Stadium, SI reports. Multiple sources told SI they believe the workouts could not have occurred without the approval of Texans executive vice president Jack Easterby, who oversees the team's strength and conditioning department.

Amid a national coronavirus spike, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ordered teams to close all team facilities starting in March, with the league and the players union later agreeing to conduct all offseason programs virtually.

According to Sports Illustrated, small groups of Texans players gathered at Eubanks's home for workouts, which occurred for several weeks, until early June, when multiple Texans players tested positive for COVID-19 and the Texans shut down the workouts in response.

Because the league was not conducting daily contact tracing in June, the exact number of positive COVID-19 tests is unknown. The spike in positive results also followed many players attending the funeral for George Floyd, a former Houston resident who was killed by police in Minneapolis last May.

Easterby was hired as the team's executive vice president in April of 2019. He previously served as the Patriots' team development director and character coach from 2013-2018 and was a team chaplain for the Chiefs from 2011-12.

As Vrentas and Bishop write, many in Houston describe Easterby "as an authority figure whose leadership style sowed distrust and division, at times flouting rules and straining relationships inside the building."

While former Texans head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien was previously regarded as directing the franchise's offseason trade of star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, four sources told Sports Illustrated that Easterby was the first, and most persistent, advocate for the team dealing the star receiver.

For More: Jack Easterby’s Rise to Power and the Chaos That Followed