HOUSTON – The Texans officlally signed offensive tackle Austin Deculus and defensive tackle Khalil Davis to the active roster from the practice squad heading into Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Deculus is slated to start against the Steelers, his first NFL start, of his career. Davis played well against the Jacksonville Jaguars after being elevated from the practice squad.
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The Texans released veteran safety DeAndre Houston-Carson from the active roster, re-signed defensive end Derek Rivers to the practice squad and elevated offensive tackle Geron Christian and center Jimmy Morrissey from the practice squad.
officially ruled out Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and backup left tackle Josh Jones for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Austin Deculus is preparing to step in for Tunsil at left tackle against the Steelers’ formidable pass rushing tandem of T.J. Watt, J.J. Watt’s younger brother, and Alex Highsmith. Tunsil is out with a painful knee injury that involves swelling and stiffness for the third consecutive game.
Jones is out with a hand injury.
Rookie middle linebacker Henry To’o’To’o will start and call the defensive plays again with Denzel Perryman out for the second game in a row with hand and wrist injuries.
Nickel back Tavierre Thomas is out again after undergoing hand surgery and may miss another game next week, too, per league sources.
Texans veteran offensive tackle Tytus Howard is doing great in his recovery after breaking his hand during training camp in two places, undergoing surgery that involved having metal hardware inserted to aid the healing process and is on track to be activated from injured reserve next week, according to league sources.
Barring any unexpected snag, Howard should return to practice next week in advance of a road game against the Atlanta Falcons, per sources. Howard has maintained his usual exercise routine and has been attending practices and meetings. Whether the Texans have him play immediately against Atlanta is undecided, per sources.
George Fant has done a solid job at right tackle for three games for the Texans. When Howard returns, he could step back into his natural right tackle spot. Howard also has a background at left tackle and lined up there in the past when Tunsil was sidelined with a thumb ligament injury two seasons ago and was placed on injured reserve.
Howard, signed to a three-year, $56 million contract extension at the start of camp, dealt with swelling in hand at the start of the season and it was determined that it wasn’t a good idea for him to rush back to play after suffering a time table with an original recovery timetable of four to six weeks. Instead, Howard is poised to return in a two-month span.
“Thank you everyone for all the hand donations lol but I’ll be good,” Howard wrote on social media when he was placed on injured reserve and it was decided that he would miss games against the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers. “I’ll be back soon better than ever.”
The heftiest investments for the Texans’ roster has been their expensive and necessary spending at the offensive line position to protect rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has passed for 906 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions despite missing four original starters across the line. Right guard Shaq Mason is the only original starter from the start of camp to start every game.
The Texans have started Jones at left tackle the past two games with Tunsil sidelined. Tunsil badly wants to play and has been rehabbing constantly, but has been dealing with significant pain and stiffness in his knee along with swelling that affects mobility, according to sources.
His outlook remains complicated on a short-term basis and perhaps longer because of a problematic knee injury. Tunsil is in supreme physical condition, but has also dealt with the rigors of the game that has taken a toll on his knee. He was limited in practice last week, was listed as questionable initially on the injury report and then was ruled out for a road game against the Jaguars and he didn’t travel.
The Texans, after allowing a league-high 11 sacks in the first two games, allowed zero sacks against the Jaguars as Stroud was only hit four times.
Tunsil was signed to a three-year, $75 million contract extension that made the three-time Pro Bowl left offensive tackle the highest paid offensive lineman in the league for the second time. And the Texans traded for and signed Mason, a former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter, to a three-year, $36 million deal.
Rookie starting center Juice Scruggs, a second-round draft pick from Penn State who was placed on short-term injured reserve with a strained hamstring, is expected to be activated as soon as next week with a chance of playing against the New Orleans Saints if he’s practicing next week before the Atlanta game, per sources.
In the wake of former starting center Scott Quessenberry out for the entire season with torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments and Scruggs being out, rookie Jarrett Patterson has started the first three games at center with Kendrick Green starting at left guard the past two games.
The Texans released veteran defensive end Derek Rivers from the 53-man roster and plan to sign him to the practice squad, per a league source.
Defensive tackle Khalil Davis and Deculus will be elevated from the practice squad, per league sources
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com