Adding injury to insult, the Houston Texans have now learned that they'll be without one of their key pieces in linebacker Henry To''oTo'o for the foreseeable future due to a shoulder injury sustained Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
Houston was already thin at the position with the loss of E.J. Speed to a torn quad, previous injuries to Jake Hansen and rookie Wade Woodaz and a dependence on an influx of rookie talent that includes the aforementioned Woodaz and fellow rookie Aiden Fisher. With To'oTo'o now on the shelf, that now puts even more pressure on a defense that's already dealing with a litany of other injuries and this recent stinging embarrassment at the hands of Bills quarterback Josh Allen and co.
As far as immediate next steps at the linebacker position, there's three moves that the Texans could make to fill in some of the gaps in production left by To'oTo'o's absence in the interim.
Three moves for the Houston Texans after losing Henry To'oTo'o to a shoulder injury
Elevating Jamal Hill from the practice squad
Being re-signed after an initial cut during roster cutdowns, Jamal Hill represents one of the most immediate answers for Houston as they navigate To'oTo'o's injury. One of the advantages for Hill is that he already has 20 games worth of NFL experience under his belt since his selection in the sixth round out of Oregon in 2024. Thus, he already know what DeMeco Ryans expects in his system, and has shown an ability to perform at a level that's kept him around for a couple of years.
He's also versatile enough to play special teams, which is always a great trait when looking for players who can add value to the overall roster.
Lean into the youth movement of Woodaz and Fisher
The next-most realistic maneuvering that Houston could do is to just lean into their development of Woodaz and Aiden Fisher at a higher level than previously intended. While it's a risky proposition--especially with the explosive offense of the Cincinnati Bengals coming to town this Sunday--Houston really doesn't have much time to wait around for a lot of other solutions. They were both drafted for a reason, it may just be that the Texans might have to accelerate their learning quicker than they might've preferred.
Bring in outside help at linebacker
Two names who could step in for the Texans if they prefer to look externally for solutions would be both Neville Hewitt and Jerome Baker, who are currently availabe for signing according to Spotrac. Both players have multiple years of NFL experience, and Hewitt especially could be considered with the reality that he spent four productive years with the organization from 2021-2024.
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