HOUSTON – The Texans are activating veteran wide receiver Noah Brown from injured reserve to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, according to league sources.
Brown returned to practice Wednesday morning after being designated for return from injured reserve after recovering from a groin injury. He participated fully all week. He was called the Texans’ most consistent wide receiver during training camp by the coaching staff.
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The Texans later made this move official and elevated cornerback D’Angelo Ross from the practice squad to the active roster and waived cornerback Alex Austin.
A former Dallas Cowboys starter, Brown, 27, has three catches for 20 yards this season and 85 career receptions for 1,000 yards and three touchdowns.
“Yeah, he’s out there working,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said Thursday. “Noah, I think we said in camp, he was the most consistent player we had probably through all of camp, and I would say that carried over even this week. He’s doing everything he can. He’s working his tail off to get back.”
Brown is back as rookie wide receiver Tank Dell remains in the concussion protocol after landing on his head during a 21-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and leaving the game. Dell caught three passes for 57 yard against Atlanta. Dell didn’t practice Wednesday. Although he has been feeling significantly better and making progress in his recovery, he is not expected to play Sunday against the Saints, per league sources. The Texans will primarily lean on Nico Collins, Brown, John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson. Robert Woods is questionable with bruised ribs, per sources, and his status for the game is still being determined.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “I wish Tank was out there, man. He’s definitely one of our best receivers. Great player, and me and him have a special, special future to come, but just like somebody goes down, next man up.
‘Somebody else has got to be ready and I feel like we answered the bell when it came to that on Sunday, and now we’ve got to do it again. I think maybe even Tank might play. I’m not sure what’s really going on, so you never know what could happen. He might be able to play, so whatever happens, I know whoever steps up, we’ll be ready.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com