Texans Undeterred After 23 Players Appear On Injury Report

The Houston Texans turned insiders’ heads Wednesday after 23 players on the team’s 53-man roster appeared on the injury report. Head coach Demeco Ryans did not appear fazed, however, as he was speaking to reporters about the team’s Week 10 prospects.

“It doesn’t stop our process,” Ryans said. “We go through the same process, and things happen. That’s life. Things don’t go your way all the time, so I continue to smile through it, and we’re going to have our best guys out there. Whoever is available, we’re going to have our best guys out there and we’re going to play the Texan brand of football.”

Houston is riding high after a big 39-37 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which puts the team back at .500 with a 4-4 record. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 470 yards and five touchdowns in the contest, an extremely encouraging sign for the team’s future.

Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals is yet another stout test, but the team could miss several key players.

Wide receiver Nico Collins and Dameon Pierce are both listed as questionable after limited practices, with several other offensive players missing some time during the week as well. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn also had to miss part of last weekend’s game, forcing backup running Dare Ogunbawale to kick the go-ahead field goal. In all, 12 players missed Wednesday’s practice and six players were limited.

This is not the first time that the Texans have had to overcome injuries this season, as the team has consistently had to work around offensive line setbacks. Star tackle Laremy Tunsil has been unavailable more often than not and missed practice Wednesday.

“We’ll continue to put our best five out there with the offensive line,” Ryans said. “When it comes to moving guys around and all those things, that’s more internal coaches’ decisions of things we’ll handle.”

The Bengals have their own injuries to deal with, namely wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s recurring back injury. But in order to challenge Cincinnati, perennial AFC contenders, the Texans may need to be near full strength.

Article by Patrick Moquin