Cobb on IR, but team hopes he can return
DETROIT — The Texans placed receiver Randall Cobb on injured reserve with a minor designation in hopes that he can return later this season, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
The Texans also placed defensive tackle P. J. Hall on injured reserve with a torn pectoral, ending his season.
Cobb injured his toe against New England on Sunday while catching a touchdown.
Cobb has caught 38 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns in his first season with the Texans after signing a threeyear, $27 million contract as a free agent.
Because wide receiver Kenny Stills is out with a quadriceps injury, the Texans are expected to utilize Coutee and possibly rookie wide receiver Isaiah Coulter. Coulter is a fifth-round draft pick from Rhode Island who was activated from injured reserve earlier this season after recovering from a neck injury.
Fullback Cullen Gillaspia (back) and Josh McCown (illness, nonCOVID-19) didn’t travel with the team to Detroit and were ruled out.
Travel plans for teams change
As the NFL instituted enhanced COVID-19 travel protocols this week, the Texans were one of the first teams to deal with the changes as they headed to Detroit to play the Lions on Thanksgiving.
The NFL informed all clubs in an internal memo that teams are allowed a limit of 62 players traveling for games. That means some players on the practice squad won’t be allowed to accompany the team.
Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel said it’s an unfortunate development, but it’s also a sign of the times during the coronavirus pandemic.
“One of the biggest things that it does, it cuts down the number of players that can travel,” Crennel said. “When we first started, we were traveling everybody just in case something happened. Now with the intensive protocol, we’re not traveling as many. Like the practice squad guys, we used to take them all, but now we can’t take them all. We just have to adapt.
“You have to explain to the players why some of the things are happening because they don’t understand why the NFL says, ‘We need to this. We need to do that,’ and things that happen during the course of the year. But I think they all understand that for the safety of the players and the safety of the league that we have to comply.”
Meanwhile, additional mask requirements have been instituted for road trips.
“All members of a Club’s Traveling Party will be required to wear N95 or KN95 masks on the team plane and on the team bus,” the memo stated.
Odds and ends
The Texans signed running back Scottie Phillips, an undrafted rookie from Mississippi, to the active roster from the practice squad. … Wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. and defensive tackle Corey Liuget were moved to the active roster from the practice squad. Liuget had a sack last week against Cleveland. … The Texans signed defensive tackle Andrew Brown to their active roster off the Bengals’ practice squad.