The Houston Texans on Friday signed first-round draft pick Duane Brown, an offensive lineman from Virginia Tech who is expected to start this season.

Brown took the practice field nearly an hour after the rest of the team on the first day of camp. The left tackle was selected 26th overall in the April draft.

The deal was agreed to at about 6 a.m. after a night of negotiating, general manager Rick Smith said. Brown couldn't take the field until the contract was signed so he waited in Smith's office for a couple of hours before joining the team at the first practice.

The team wouldn't release terms of the deal.

Brown warmed up for a few minutes on a separate field before joining the team for drills. He was glad he didn't miss much practice time.

"Every day is a learning experience for me and I feel like I need every day so I can get to prepare for the season," he said. "So being able to come out here and get some work done on the first day helped me out."

Smith said it was a relief to get Brown signed in time for the first practice.

"It's just a constant attempt to find common ground and that's what you do and that's what we did all night last night and this morning and thankfully we were able to come to an agreement," Smith said. Continued...