The Houston Texans continue to roll out the Battle-Red carpet for several potential playmakers who've been sidelined throughout the first five games of the 2026 season due to a litany of injury designations.
Last week, the team welcomed back second-round defensive tackle Mayden McDonald (ankle) to the field of play, along with designating both offensive tackle Braden Smith (plantar fascia) and wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) as returnees to practice. McDonald put some decent reps on the field against the Tennessee Titans last week, while Smith and Dell logged their first practices since the beginning of the season.
Ahead of Houston's departure to London, England to face off against their AFC opponents in the Jacksonville Jaguars, more ultra-positive injury news continues to pour out of Reliant Stadium.
The Houston Texans continue to get healthier after another productive week of practice
We already knew that Smith had been full reinstated to the team and was even thought to be in line to challenge incumbent starter Trent Brown for his role on the right side of the formation due to a perceived inconsistency from the former New England Patriots protector. However, what wasn't clear was the return timeline of names like Dell, starting linebacker Henry To'oTo'o (shoulder) and even cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram (elbow).
As of today, the team has confirmed the most recent injury updates for the aforementioned trio of Texans, and the news has Houston's fan base buzzing in unbridled anticipation.
According to the official Houston Texans PR X account:
- Dell completed a second consecutive day of full participation in practice (after multiple limited particpation days last week)
- Ingram was upgraded from limited participation on Wednesday to full participation today
- To'oTo'o was upgraded from limited participation on Wednesday to full participation today
While matters such as these are highly-fluid, the reality is that having multiple players engaging in full practice activities (for multiple days in Dell's case) is normally a sign that at least one of—if not all—players are trending towards some level of availability come Houston's 8:30 a.m. kickoff time with Jacksonville on Sunday morning.
If this is the case, then the calculus on the Texans' game against the Jaguars has changed dramatically, as well as the trajectory of the backend of the campaign. Not only are the Texans seemingly coming out of the other side of an early-season nosedive, but they're also getting healthier at the same time. There's still much to finalize in terms of who actually will occupy what role upon respective returns, but the Texans are undoubtedly a lot more dangerous now then what they were this time Monday morning.
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