If it comes down to a holdout, Duane Brown has the...

I wanted to check in with Deshaun Watson. I was told he was off limits.

I then decided to check in with the undrafted rookie wide receiver who was catching post-practice passes from the Texans' first-round pick. He was off limits, too.

Because it was the final day of media availability for OTAs and there wasn't much to officially say about voluntarily jogging around in shorts and T-shirts, there wasn't any point in going in depth with the main guy.

"These guys know how to practice. They know how to work in OTAs and take care of each other," coach Bill O'Brien said Tuesday, across the street from NRG Stadium. "That's the big thing. We have to stay healthy."

Then I thought of another big thing that has been missing the entire time.

Duane Brown.

While some were picking apart mostly worthless looks at Tom Savage and Watson - Brock Osweiler looked great this time last year; Brandon Weeden is apparently having a career resurgence in shorts - the one guy worth talking about still hasn't shown up.

Voluntary is the main word to remember. This doesn't mean anything until it's mandatory for a few days next week.

The other word is often the only one that matters, especially in the NFL: money.

The longest-tenured Texan has skipped organized team activities, losing multiple (shorts and T-shirts) days to adapt to an offense that is supposedly changing and a new starting quarterback. And despite still having two years and $19.4 million left on his contract, there has been no hint Brown will put on a Texans uniform anytime soon.

"Nothing."

That was the only word O'Brien has issued about Brown during OTAs, and neither side has publicly commented about the ongoing absence of the 10th-year left tackle, who'll turn 32 in August and has long been the anchor of the Texans' offensive line.

An offense that tied for 28th in average scoring (17.4 points) last season and was allergic to touchdowns in the red zone has a new quarterback who has never thrown a TD, a new playcaller (sort of), and the O-line could be its weakest link.

Yeah, you could say Brown has a little leverage.

A longtime mainstay

He's a three-time Pro Bowler who has long done everything the Texans have asked on and off the field. He's his own man and isn't afraid to speak his mind or proudly raise a fist. He also missed the opening four games of 2016 after recovering from a major leg injury, then returned to lead a constantly sewn-together line that ultimately produced the eighth-best rushing attack in the league (116.2 average yards) and a 1,073-yard season from new running back Lamar Miller.

Did I mention that Brown and a bunch of other big guys ranked 11th in sacks allowed (32), despite blocking for the long-legged Osweiler and never having much of a passing game to back them?

Yeah, you could definitely say Brown has some leverage.

It's too early to take sides in this. Brown hasn't lost a cent. Next week's mandatory minicamp is the first real test of his commitment.

Frustrated No. 1 receiver DeAndre Hopkins held out for all of one training-camp practice last season. He's expected to receive a major contract extension this summer. Andre Johnson dug in more than once for more money and stronger guarantees. He never really won, but he wasn't afraid to shake the tree.

Brown's holdout (if it really becomes one) could become interesting. He doesn't have any guaranteed contract cash in 2017-18 and is nine years removed from being the No. 26 overall pick of the 2008 draft. Only a few of the old-era Texans (Brian Cushing, Kareem Jackson, J.J. Watt) are still left, and Brown has watched almost all of his old teammates eventually cast aside on Kirby Drive.

Clock to start ticking

The Texans need Brown. He knows that. It's also as impossible to imagine him walking away from $9.6 million this season as it is to picture him intentionally sitting out Week 1.

Next week?

The first week of training camp in West Virginia?

Two weeks before Jacksonville at NRG on Sept. 10?

Savage needs his left tackle and the Texans aren't doing anything in 2017 if they can't run, run and run.

If Brown digs in, No. 76 could be missing for a while.