Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair left Sunday's win over the Patriots with a knee injury. HC Demeco Ryans said afterward that Al-Shaair tried to return but couldn't and that he's "getting evaluated." That means both LB starters are dealing with injuries this week. (Henry To'oTo'o has a concussion.) And LB Christian Harris has yet to come off IR for his calf injury. Neville Hewitt filled in for Al-Shaair against New England and would start in his place if he can't go. Jake Hansen looks like the next man up if To'oTo'o is out and Harris isn't ready. We'll watch for updates on the whole crew this week.
Texans LB Henry To'oTo'o landed in the concussion protocol after Sunday's win over the Patriots. That obviously challenges his status for a Week 7 visit to Green Bay. We'll have to watch for updates throughout the week on multiple injury situations among Houston LBs -- including the pending return of Christian Harris from IR.
Texans second-year Edge Will Anderson Jr. might be iffy for Week 1. Anderson hasn't practiced since the week of the Hall of Fame game, which opened the preseason on Aug. 1. HC Demeco Ryans reportedly gave no specific info on Anderson's outlook after Monday's closed walkthrough.
The Texans have placed LB Christian Harris on IR to open the season because of a nagging calf strain. Harris missed a significant stretch of camp with the initial injury and then aggravated it upon his return. He has been designated to return, which means he's eligible to return as soon as Week 5 against the Bills.
Texans Wire's Cole Thompson reports that second-round rookie CB Kamari Lassiter "was the talk of OTAs." Thompson says the team drafted Lassiter -- 42nd overall, Houston's first pick of the draft -- with hopes he'd compete for the nickel CB role. But Lassiter "held his own working first-team reps on the boundary" against a strong group of Texans WRs. If Lassiter continues his strong play through training camp, he could compete for the starting gig opposite Derek Stingley Jr. His primary competition for that spot will be Jeff Okudah, a former first-round pick of the Lions who's now with his third team. Okudah signed a one-year, $4.75 million deal with the Texans this offseason.
The Texans have ruled Edge Jonathan Greenard (ankle) out for Saturday's game against the Colts. Edge Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) is questionable for the second straight week. He followed the same practice schedule as Week 17, sitting out the first two days before returning to a limited workout. Anderson played through the questionable tag for normal duty and good production last week. You can find him in a usable range in our Week 18 DL rankings.
Texans Edge Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) and Edge Jonathan Greenard (ankle) missed practice Tuesday and Wednesday, ahead of Saturday's game against the Colts. Anderson missed the first two practices last week but then played and produced in the win over the Titans. We'd bet he'll be ready for Week 18. Greenard missed last week. We'll see what the week's final injury report (Thursday afternoon) says for each player.
Texans Edge Will Anderson Jr. is active for today's game against the Titans. He missed the past two games with a high-ankle sprain and still managed just one limited practice (Friday) this week. So don't expect him to be back to full strength. The high-upside matchup with Tennessee makes him interesting in deep/dynasty situations, but be careful about trusting him too much. DT Maliek Collins (hip) is inactive. DT Sheldon Rankins (ankle) is active.
Texans LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) finished the week with a full Friday practice and carries no injury designation into Sunday's game against the Titans. That says Cashman's ready to return to the lineup. LB Denzel Perryman (ankle) similarly returned to full practice Friday and doesn't appear on the final injury report. Perryman hasn't missed any time with his injury, though. Cashman missed the past two games. The last time Cashman, Perryman, and Christian Harris played a full game together, Cashman played every snap, Perryman played 65%, and Harris played 60%. It was Harris edging Perryman in playing time each of the past three weeks, though, starting with the game Cashman left early. We haven't seen word from Houston coaches about the LB plan for this week, so we can only assume Cashman will reclaim the corps lead and Harris will follow. The uncertainty plus a Titans offense that has supplied the fifth-fewest fantasy points to LBs, though, has us wary of putting any Texans LB too high in the Week 17 rankings.
The Texans have ruled out Edge Jonathan Greenard (ankle) for Sunday's game against the Titans -- and they might miss as many as three other D-line starters. Edge Will Anderson Jr. (ankle), DT Maliek Collins (hip), and DT Sheldon Rankins (ankle) are questionable. Anderson missed the past two games with the injury and managed just a limited Friday practice this week. He doesn't look like a good bet for IDP lineups even if active. Rankins also put in just a single limited workout, while Collins missed the whole week. At the least, this D-line will be well below full strength. That can only help the matchup for Titans RB Derrick Henry. He posted a terrible 10 total yards on 20 touches in the teams' Week 15 meeting, but Anderson was the only of those four D-linemen injured for that contest. Henry looks like an RB2 with upside across formats this week.
Texans Edge Jonathan Greenard has missed the first two practices of the week after spraining an ankle in Sunday's loss to the Browns. That has him looking unlikely to play this week against the Titans. We'll watch for confirmation on his status Friday but have removed Greenard from the Week 17 rankings. Houston looks likely to also miss rookie edge Will Anderson Jr. for the third straight game. Anderson also has yet to practice this week while nursing his own ankle injury.
The Texans have claimed S Kareem Jackson off waivers from the Broncos. Denver dumped the twice-suspended veteran, opting to continue with P.J. Locke next to S Justin Simmons. Jackson could see immediate time for a Houston defense that lost Jimmie Ward to a quad injury against the Browns. It's not yet clear how long Ward will be out. We'll watch for specifics on Jackson's Week 17 role.
Houston has ruled out LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) for the second straight game. LB Denzel Perryman (Achilles') is questionable. He managed limited practices all week, though, and Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports that Perryman's "trending toward being active." Cashman's absence and Perryman's question mark have moved LB Christian Harris up our Week 16 LB rankings. Harris has produced solid numbers lately, including 7 solo tackles in three of his past four games -- with two lines of 10+ total tackles in that span. Cleveland presents a positive scoring matchup this week. The Browns have yielded the third-most fantasy points per game to LBs for the season and remain top-8 in that category even over QB Joe Flacco's three weeks as starter.
Texans Edge Will Anderson Jr. suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's loss to the Jets, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports. Anderson was in a walking boot Wednesday, which certainly doesn't bode well for his chance of playing this weekend. Anderson is likely droppable (where rostered) for most redraft IDP leagues.
The Texans expect LB Blake Cashman to miss at least this week's game against the Titans after he strained a hamstring in Week 14, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston. That should leave Christian Harris and Denzel Perryman as the top two LBs in playing time. Neither makes for an exciting IDP play, but Harris should be the better bet after leading Perryman in playing time and production against the Jets last Sunday. Houston also expects to miss CB Tavierre Thomas (hamstring) for multiple games. He and Cashman are droppable in most redraft IDP leagues.
Texans Edge Will Anderson Jr. (knee) is active for today's game against the Cardinals. Use him as planned for IDP lineups.
The NFL has suspended Texans LB Denzel Perryman for three games over repeated violations of the player-safety rules, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Perryman incurred his seventh foul of the season Sunday for using his helmet in delivering a hit. This is particularly noteworthy timing because Perryman had also just reclaimed the playing-time lead among Houston LBs in that game, at 86%. Christian Harris followed at 64%, with Blake Cashman (55%) third. Harris would seem to be the best bet to lead playing time over the next few games. But it's worth remembering that he already got demoted to a reserve role after starting the season's first four games. We'll cautiously lean Harris, then Cashman for Week 11. But the best bet among Houston's LB corps is to not invest too heavily in anyone. Rookie Henry To'oTo'o might re-enter the mix as well, but he's dealing with an injury and recently got demoted after his own starting turn. We'll also see whether the Perryman suspension holds up through a likely appeal.
The Texans have activated CB Derek Stingley Jr. from IR. He has been out since Week 2 with a hamstring injury but appears ready to play today against the Bengals. It's tough to know how close to full playing time he'll get in his first game back from such a long layoff. He also hasn't had much chance to show us if he'll be an impactful IDP option. The 2022 first-round pick has appeared in just 11 NFL games to date. His return can only help the Houston defense. But we'll be watching to see whether he's worth individual fantasy attention.
Texans LB Denzel Perryman is inactive for today's game against the Saints. He put in full practices all week and carried no injury designation into Sunday after returning last week from a hand injury. So this looks like a healthy scratch. That combines with Perryman's decreased playing time last week to signal the team is turning to rookie Henry To'oTo'o and Blake Cashman as the LB leaders. Perryman is droppable in your IDP league.
Texans LB Denzel Perryman (hand) put in a full practice Wednesday. He missed the past two games but appears to be on track to play this week against the Falcons. Perryman should return to most IDP lineups if active.
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