ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston has just one personal goal for the upcoming season and that’s to go beyond his normal.

"My expectations are higher," Houston said. “I want to be more dominant than I’ve ever been. That’s my goal. That’s my plan and I’m going to work until I get there.”

For that to happen, Houston has to stay in the lineup for a full season. That’s been a problem for him. He played in all 16 games in 2014, but in three of the last four years he’s been limited to partial seasons -- no more than 11 games -- because of injuries.

Houston showed his potential in that 2014 season, when he led the NFL with 22 sacks. But he missed a chunk of the season in 2013 with a dislocated elbow and then a knee injury in 2015 knocked him out for part of that season and much of the next.

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Houston said he’s past those injuries now and he certainly looks to be on the training-camp practice field. He said he doesn’t believe he’s injury-prone or the victim of bad luck.

“One injury was the cause for two seasons," he said. “It was just the time of the injury. I got hurt the end of the one year and it lingered on until the next year. It’s not bad luck. It was just one major injury.”

Houston trains on his own during the offseason, preferring to work near his home in Georgia rather than with the Chiefs in Kansas City. He’s always reported to training camp in excellent shape and delivered results when he’s been able to stay healthy.

That offseason routine could contribute to his history of injuries, though Houston disagreed with that notion.

“I want to get better, I want to get stronger and I want to get healthy," he said. “I think that’s how everybody goes. As long as you play, it doesn’t matter what position you play, the offseason is to build your body up so you can last the whole season.

“I feel great. I’m ready to get out here and play and have fun and play the whole season.”