Some Houston Texans players considered staging a walkout following a comment by team owner Bob McNair that compared NFL players to "inmates," a source told ESPN's Sarah Barshop.
About 10 players, including wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, left the facility Friday, the source said. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Hopkins' absence from practice Friday was directly related to McNair's comment.
Most of the players who left returned to the facility, the source said, and the remaining players were talked out of their protest by the coaching staff.
McNair issued a public apology Friday following an ESPN The Magazine report that McNair said "We can't have the inmates running the prison" during last week's owners meeting in reference to ongoing player demonstrations during the national anthem.