Brooks could be activated for Titans game
Texans coach David Culley said safety Terrence Brooks “could possibly be ready to play” against the Titans on Sunday. The franchise designated the eightyear veteran for return from injured reserve Monday, which means Brooks can practice for up to three weeks without playing before he starts counting toward the 53-man roster.
Brooks suffered a lung contusion in an Oct. 17 loss against the Colts. He spent two days in Indianapolis under medical supervision before returning to Houston, was placed on injured reserve Oct. 21 and has been sidelined with the injury for three games.
The 29-year-old defensive back attended practice Monday and Wednesday.
“He’ll be limited, but we feel like he’s back,” Culley said. “It’s just the fact that he’s been away for a while and getting his stamina back and making sure we don’t bring him back too quick, too fast. He’s going to practice this week, and we will just see how it goes. He could possibly be ready to play for us.”
Brooks began the season playing mostly on special teams. But after communication breakdowns and mental mistakes contributed to several blown coverages and explosive plays, defensive coordinator Lovie Smith fielded the secondary’s fourth lineup combination by starting Brooks ahead of Lonnie Johnson against the Colts.
Brooks suffered his injury with 3:18 left in the first quarter, when he dove at Colts wide receiver Parris Campbell on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Johnson replaced Brooks and started in the next two games, but when the secondary’s issues persisted, the Texans started Eric Murray against Miami in place of Johnson.
Culley said Murray will start again at safety against the Titans.
Henry’s absence hangs over difficult matchup
Scan the rushing leaderboards, and there still remain signs of Derrick Henry’s dominance.
Two weeks ago, the Titans running back suffered a foot injury
that’s expected to sideline him the rest of the season. But the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year is still tied with Colts running back Jonathan Taylor for the league’s most rushing yards (937) despite playing two fewer games, and,this past Sunday, James Conner finally surpassed Henry’s touchdown total with an 11th rushing score for the Cardinals.
Somehow the Titans (8-2) have added two more victories to their league-best winning streak, now at six games, without their 6-3, 247pound All-Pro. Tennessee has won with a stout defense that forced a combined three turnovers in wins over the playoff-contending Rams (7-3) and Saints (5-4). They’ve also manufactured enough offense with receiver duo Julio Jones and A.J. Brown to give Ryan Tannehill downfield passing options.
But a once dominant run game is significantly diminished with 36-year-old four-time All-Pro Adrian Peterson and former Texan D’Onta Foreman as replacements, and the drop in productivity offers a point of attack for a rebuilding Texans franchise desperately seeking to snap an eightgame losing streak as it travels to Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday to play the top team in the AFC.
The Titans are running the ball less without Henry (27.5 attempts per game) than they did with him (32.5 per game), but Culley says the foundation of Tennessee’s offense still starts with the run.
“The thing about him is this: They are who they are,” Culley said. “With him, obviously, (Henry’s) a special player, probably the only one of his kind in this league right now. But since he’s been out, what we’ve seen is instead of them giving the ball to him, they’re giving it to two or three other guys.”
OT Tunsil making progress in rehab
Texans starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil has started to lift weights again, Culley said Wednesday, a development helping the injured lineman regain his strength after undergoing surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb in mid-October.
Tunsil, arguably the Texans’ best player, has been on injured reserve since Oct. 16 and missed four games while rehabbing the injury. Surgery initially prevented Tunsil from lifting weights, and although he’s still figuring out whether he’ll wear a splint on his thumb or not, the star lineman has at least been able to return to the weight room.
Tunsil is one of three linemen the Texans are missing because of injury. Right tackle Marcus Cannon (back) has been on injured reserve since Oct. 9, and center Justin Britt (knee) was placed on the list Oct. 30. Protection has been porous in the linemen’s absences. The Texans surrendered a season-high five sacks to the Rams in a 38-22 loss on Oct. 31 and gave up ive sacks again in a 17-9 loss to the Dolphins on Nov. 7.
The Texans, searching for a solution, fielded their fifth different rotation of starting offensive linemen in Miami. Starting right guard Max Scharping was benched for utility lineman Justin McCray, which paved the way for Jimmy Morrissey, whom the Texans signed Oct. 19 from the Raiders’ practice squad, to make his debut at center.
Culley said the Texans will start the same lineup against the Titans.