Injuries are as common in the NFL as touchdowns are. No team can escape them, which is why a team is always looking for backup players to round out a roster. Not just guys collecting a check, but guys who can start at some point down the road, as you never know who will go down. Or for how long?
Take for instance the Texans' 1-2 skid last season when they lost C.J. Stroud for a few games. He went down in the second half of the New York Jets game, a game they lost, and then struggled without him. Luckily Stroud recovered and the Texans opted to move on from Stroud's backup in 2023, Case Keenum, for the hopefully more impressive Davis Mills.
Still, injuries happen and the hope is that you either don't lose too many guys week to week or that you have some stellar backups ready to go. Luckily as we head into Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans are not dealing with any sort of major injury outbreak.
Currently, only one player is being listed as having missed practice due to injury and that's safety M.J. Stewart. He missed Thursday's practice with a sore knee, an injury that may or may not hold him out of Sunday's game against the Colts.
Still, the fact that the Texans only have on player who's banged up is a good sign. More impressively, the Injured Reserve list, or the IR as fans call it, only has three names on it who are out for the year, with an additional two names who are out until week five. All things being even, this is a pretty lucky break for the Texans.
Did Not Practice
SAF M.J. Stewart (knee) - Did Not Practice
Injured Reserve
TE Dalton Keene (Season)
DT Kurt Hinnish (Week 5 return expected)
QB Case Keenum (Season)
LB Christian Harris (Week 5 return expected)
SAF Brandon Hill (Season)
Non-Football Related Injury
DE Dylan Horton (Illness)