Texans Injury Report: Linebackers and Secondary in Trouble

Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Deep into the NFL season, no team is 100% as some where down the line, players will go down. That is no different in the week 14 matchup between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans.

The Patriots seemingly have the worst of injures with all but two of the players listed on the report being questionable to play. Tight end Rob Gronkowski has been ruled out while linebacker Jerod Mayo is listed as probable. Notable names on this report include Wide Receivers Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd with ankle and knee injuries respectively, as well as linebackers Brandon Spikes and Dont’a Hightower dealing with Knee and hamstring injuries.

The linebacker problems on the Patriots fail to compare to the Texans, although all are listed as probable. The only linebackers not listed on the injury report and starting outside linebacker Connor Barwin and inside reserve linebacker Barrett Ruud, who was signed in lieu of Brian Cushing’s season ending injury.

While the Texans may in fact go into this game with all nine linebacker listed on their depth chart, it may manifest into a bigger problem if they aren’t ready to go. The Texans secondary has also been banged up this season with cornerback Johnathan Joseph missing time this season. He is currently listed as probable. Slot corner Brice McCain was also placed on injury reserve last week, which caused the Texans to ink cornerback Stanford Routt. Routt was a big free agent signing to the Chiefs this pass off season, yet he was deemed a bust in their eyes and let go. Routt will most definitely see playing time as the Patriots love to bring in multiple receiver packages. Given the amount of injuries both teams face, a lot of new faces could be called upon to make plays.

-Antonio Furgiuele