Sometimes in the NFL, it's not the "best" team that wins it all, but rather the one who best survived the gauntlet of a complete league season. Specifically, when it comes to the matter of major injuries to key players and they impact that individual and the trajectory of their respective franchise as a whole.
There have been a litany of instances where a team who could compete for a Super Bowl becomes a shell of itself due to being ravaged by injuries. The San Francisco 49ers are a most recent example of this, as 2025 saw them lose multiple All-Pro's and Pro Bowlers to severe ailments for chunks of the season. Defensive stalwarts like linebacker Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, as well as quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk all missed time last season.
This resulted in a hefty amount of money being flushed down the toilet in paying said injured players, and it completely cratered their chances of having a legitimate shot at a Lombardi trophy in a year where head coach Kyle Shanahan still managed to guide his beaten and battered bunch to the NFC Playoffs and even a crack at the first-overall seed in week 18. Imagine, being 12-5 and playoff bound in spite of one of the worst injury rashes even seen in NFL history. It's both a impressive feat and a major disappointment for the organization considering they'll always have the "what if?" of missing so much talent at a time where the NFC could've been won by multiple contenders.
For the Houston Texans, health concerns have been one of their biggest opponents since the current iteration of the organization took shape in the 2023 offseason. 2026 has started off no differently unfortunately, as linebacker and special teams contributor E.J. Speed's partially torn pectoral muscle could be an indicator of more of the same in Houston this campaign.
Injuries have rampaged Texans' personnel since 2023
From the 2023 season onward, key players who've missed major amounts of games for Houston have been:
2023
- WR Tank Dell (Fractured fibula, six games + playoffs)
- QB C.J. Stroud (Concussion, two games)
- WR Nico Collins (calf injuries, two games)
2024
- TE Brevin Jordan (Torn ACL, 15 games + playoffs)
- WR Tank Dell (Ruptured knee, three games + playoffs)
- WR Stefon Diggs (Torn ACL, nine games + playoffs)
- WR Nico Collins (Hamstring, five games)
- RB Joe Mixon (Ankle, three games)
2025
- TE Brevin Jordan (Torn ACL, all season + playoffs)
- WR Tank Dell (Ruptured knee from 2024, all season + playoffs)
- WR Nico Collins (Multiple concussions, two games + AFC Divisional round)
- QB C.J. Stroud (Concussion, three games)
- DT Tim Settle Jr. (Foot, five games + playoffs)
- DT Mario Edwards Jr. (Ruptured pec, three games + playoffs)
- RB Joe Mixon (Foot, all season + playoffs)
While not an exhaustive list, this helps to show how Houston has dealt with some of the worst injury problems in the NFL for going on almost half of a decade now. Amazingly, the defense in 2025 actually managed to stay mainly intact throughout the year. Besides the aforementioned rotational defensive tackles in Settle and Edwards, the Texans received the gift of a healthy year from multiple All-Pro's, Pro Bowlers and impact starters in their defensive unit. This is what makes Speed's injury news very concerning,
Texans healthy defense from 2025 could be in danger in 2026
Healthy seasons for large portions of NFL teams don't come around as often as some may think. The Texans found themselves one game away from an AFC Championship berth last campaign, mainly due to their mostly healthy defense being the engine to their 12-5 record and subsequent AFC Wildcard win. Without that, they easily could've been an 8-9 team or worse, and with a boat load of questions to answer in the offseason (which they still ended up having, but for different reasons).
They ended up whiffing at the hands of the New England Patriots in Foxborough, being sent back to Houston empty handed and with their own "what if?" scenario to contemplate. "What if that defense doesn't stay as healthy this time around?" is something I've been wondering throughout their offseason programming. Speed's injury development only made that concern that much of a reality for me.
We had defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and a secondary containing Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter, Calen Bullock and Jalen Pitre all be available throughout last year. Was that one of the only times we'll see that kind of health combined with those men?
While Speed's injury alone shouldn't be cause to believe the season's already over, it still is a sober reminder that no opportunity in the NFL should be taken for granted. It's starts off as one player, but then becomes two, then three, then several more and finally you're the Niners or Texans who miss out of potential Super Bowl trips due to the volume of bodies that can't seem to find their way to the field of play.
Here's hoping the best for Speed's immediate and long-term future, and that this doesn't snowball into anything else for Houston. If this roster can stay mostly healthy throughout this season, the Texans could very well be en route to finally shattering the glass ceiling that's held them back from AFC supremecy since their re-introduction to the league 25 years ago.
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