Texans’ Christmas Eve practice report: Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter back, sidelined Trent Brown, Aireontae Ersery

HOUSTON – Texans starting tackles Aireontae Ersery and Trent Brown remained sidelined at practice Wednesday and are trending to be out for a Saturday game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Ersery had surgery for a broken thumb with metal hardware inserted to aid the healing process, per league sources, with a return time undetermined and a hope that he can return this season with a protective club.

Brown is “day to day” with knee and ankle injuries, per a source.

Both players got hurt Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The next men up are involved in a line shuffle with Tytus Howard shifting from left guard to right tackle again and Blake Fisher replacing Ersery on the left side.

Fisher stepped in at left tackle for Ersery against Las Vegas and he is preparing to play Saturday against the Chargers. Fisher, a former second-round draft pick, played left tackle at Notre Dame and was an All-American selection. With the Texans this season, he has primarily operated as an extra tackle in their jumbo package with six offensive linemen.

“It feels good,” Fisher said of being back at left tackle. “It’s just going out there, being physical, getting to my spot, using the proper technique at all times. I’m really confident. Being able to get thrown in there, if that’s what it ends up being, I’m really confident and really comfortable with the techniques and stuff I’ve been taught.”

The versatility and experience of Howard paid off as he stepped in at right tackle as Jarrett Patterson plugged in for him at left guard. The Texans managed to close out the Raiders with a 23-21 victory at NRG Stadium, their seventh win in a row as they improved to 10-5 overall and remain seventh in the AFC playoff standings.

“Everybody knows we’re banged up at tackle and we’ll see,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We’re on a short week here, we’ll see how that pans out for us.”

The Texans are regarded as likely to use that alignment again Saturday against the Chargers.

“I’ve been preparing for that moment every week,” said Howard, a former first-round draft pick who has started at every position across the offensive line except for center. “Even though I’ve been playing guard, I’m always taking tackle reps because I know at any given moment, I gotta go back out there and I gotta be ready. So, that’s something I’m prepared to do if I had to go back to tackle. So, I’m ready.

“We’ve got guys that’s gonna step in like Jarrett and play some good football. Blake came in and played well for us, too. You’ve always gotta be ready in this league. You never know what’s gonna happen. I’ve been preparing my whole career, my whole life for moments like that in the game to step up and help the team.”

Texans starting running back Woody Marks returned to practice Tuesday and participated fully after missing one game with a lingering ankle injury.

Marks was replaced against the Las Vegas Raiders by Jawhar Jordan and Nick Chubb. Now, the Texans’ backfield has more options with Marks’ return for a Saturday road game.

“It feels good, just to be back on the field and running around with the team,” Marks said. “Very tough, just had a talk with my mom and them, they know I don’t like missing games or practices.”

“I feel like nobody is going to be 100 percent at the end of the season. I’m not going to feel 100 percent, but close to there. They’re my brothers, but I want to be out there playing with them.”

Texans Pro Bowl linebacker and team captain Azeez Al-Shaair returned to practice on a limited basis Tuesday from knee and ankle injuries after missing the Raiders game. He practiced again Wednesday.

“I felt good,” Al-Shaair said after practice. “It was hard because that’s not just who I am. I fought through everything I’ve ever had in my life, but especially, playing the game of football.”

While linebacker Jake Hansen remains out with a chest injury, several players returned to practice Wednesday.

That included cornerback Kamari Lassiter (foot), cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (oblique), defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (knee) and defensive ends Denico Autry (knee), Dylan Horton (hip).

It was a choppy game overall for the offense.

They didn’t score a touchdown until the second half and leaned on kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn for three field goals from 55, 50 and 49 yards.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud got off to a slow start before rallying the offense in the fourth quarter with some solid drives. He was never sacked despite the presence of Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who had one quarterback hit. Stroud was hit four times overall.

The running game wasn’t good for the majority of the game except for a 30-yard run from Nick Chubb. Jawhar Jordan made some yards out of nothing with limited room to operate and finished with 53 yards on 15 carries with Marks held out of the game due to a lingering ankle injury.

“I thought the protection was good,” Ryans said. “They sent a lot of pressure at us. I thought we picked the pressures up really well. For me, watching it from the sideline, the run game, we’ve got to get more movement, we’ve got to get a hat on a hat better. Too many guys in the backfield.”

The Texans rushed for 83 yards on 26 carries, a 3.2 average. There wasn’t a lot of traction gained in the trenches compared to the Raiders’ offense, which got 128 rushing yards from standout rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

“The main thing is we couldn’t run the football,” Ryans said. “We didn’t control the line of scrimmage how we needed to control the line of scrimmage. They got a lot of negative tackles for loss, knocked us back a few times and we didn’t run the ball well.

“On the flipside of that, they were able to run the ball effectively and that was the difference in the game. If we control the line of scrimmage better, we can sustain drives a little bit better to be in better control of the game.”

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