The Houston Texans selected John Metchie III in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft knowing the Alabama wide receiver probably wouldn’t start his pro career on time.

Metchie had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his final game for the Crimson Tide – a 41-24 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 5, 2021.

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But it wasn’t his knee injury that kept Metchie from playing during the 2022 NFL season.

In July 2022, Metchie was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

The wide receiver overcame the disease and rejoined the Texans for their offseason program this year. Then a hamstring injury kept Metchie from participating in much of the field work in May and June.

But on Thursday night, Metchie finally played for Houston. In the Texans’ 20-9 preseason victory over the New England Patriots, Metchie played 19 snaps and had a 5-yard reception for a first down during Houston’s second-quarter touchdown drive.

“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.”

After the game, Metchie shared a hug with former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who is the Patriots’ signal-caller but did not play on Thursday night.

Metchie and Jones posed for a postgame photo with the game’s other Crimson Tide alumni. Metchie is teammates with Will Anderson Jr., Christian Harris and Henry To’oTo’o, and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans also is an Alabama alumnus. In addition to Jones, New England’s former Tide players include Christian Barmore, Anfernee Jennings and Mack Wilson.

“I got my buddy Will here, Henry, Harris,” Metchie said. “That’s a good thing. We’re all adjusting, we’re all doing it together and there are familiar faces. We took a picture. … It’s a family.”

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The Texans won 11 games and had four head coaches over the previous three seasons.

A former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year as a Houston linebacker, Ryans has been charged with turning around the Texans after working as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator the past two years.

Houston used the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and traded for the No. 3 pick to add Anderson.

“I think the team is looking really good,” Metchie said. “We’ve just got to keep working. There are a lot of new pieces and a lot of moving pieces. We’re getting this new offense down. There’s a lot of timing. I think we’ve just got to keep working. I think it’s really promising.”

The Texans return to preseason action at 3 p.m. CDT Aug. 19 when the Miami Dolphins visit NRG Stadium in Houston. NFL Network will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.