Texans vs. Jaguars: J.J. Watt, 6 others miss practice

Nov 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) runs onto the field before a game against the Oakland Raiders at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t know exactly what the Houston Texans’ Wednesday injury report means for the team this Sunday, but today they were missing seven players from practice who didn’t participate, including standout defensive end J.J. Watt.

Watt missed practice with a back issue, and though hopefully he’ll be OK for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, anytime the best player on the team misses practice for any reason can cause some worry.

Watt wasn’t the only player who didn’t participate that makes a person worry, rookie wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins missed practice with an illness, as did guard Wade Smith with a knee injury.

Also out of practice Wednesday from the defensive side was cornerback Kareem Jackson (ribs), cornerback Elbert Mack (hamstring), inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton (foot/toe/back) and safety Jawanza Starling (hamstring).

Those are also not the best of names to see missing practice, but it would be good for the Texans to have Jackson and Sharpton return to the field, because this weekend is a winnable game. They need all the players they possibly can have healthy to snap their eight game losing streak.

Limited in practice were: tackle Duane Brown (illness), inside linebacker Joe Mays (knee), inside linebacker Mike Mohamed (hamstring), center Chris Myers (throat), inside linebacker Jeff Tarpinian (groin) and running back Ben Tate (ribs/ankle/toe).

This will be an interesting remainer of the week to see how some of the “top” players on this team heal up before Sunday’s game.