Texans starters Woody Marks, Azeez Al-Shaair, Trent Brown return to practice, Nick Chubb, Kamari Lassiter sidelined

HOUSTON – When the Texans returned to practice Thursday, so did rookie running back Woody Marks as he took the first hand-off from quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Marks was sidelined at practice Wednesday due to a minor knee injury and was held out of the first workout of the week.

Although Marks is back, veteran running back Nick Chubb remains sidelined with a rib injury suffered last Sunday. Marks leads the Texans with 554 rushing yards. Chubb is regarded as a major question mark to miss Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Marks was joined on the practice field by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (ankle) offensive tackle Trent Brown (broken finger) and defensive end Denico Autry (knee) after they missed practice Wednesday.

Al-Shaair leads the NFL’s top-ranked defense with 84 tackles and had a key interception Sunday of Patrick Mahomes in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (foot) and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (shoulder, elbow) didn’t practice again. Lassiter is expected to return later in the week.

Rankins’ status is in question, and the team added defensive tackle Naquan Jones off waivers this week from the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Texans got tight end Harrison Bryant and wide receiver Justin Watson back to practice Wednesday as both players were officially designated for return from injured reserve. Bryant (neck, shoulder) was limited as was Watson (calf), linebacker E.J. Speed (knee) and linebacker Jamal Hill (hamstring).

Fullback Jakob Johnson was re-signed to the practice squad.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com .