Johnson returns to thin backfield
A depleted Texans offensive backfield received some muchneeded relief Monday.
Veteran running back David Johnson, the team’s active leading rusher this season, was activated from the team’s COVID-19/ reserve list. Johnson and recent practice-squad pickup Jaylen Samuels didn’t play against the Seahawks after testing positive over the weekend, and it seemed possible they wouldn’t be available against the Jaguars, either.
According to the NFL’s COVID-19 policy, if vaccinated individuals don’t return two consecutive negative tests taken at least 24 hours apart, they may return after 10 days. Johnson’s return signals that he met those requirements.
The Texans may still decide to acquire more depth at running back before the game in Jacksonville on Sunday. Royce Freeman was the team’s only available running back remaining in Sunday’s 33-13 loss to the Seahawks when Rex Burkhead went down with a hip injury. Burkhead’s status is “day-today,” coach David Culley said Monday, which means Johnson and Freeman could be the only running backs available against the Jaguars.
Johnson has 176 yards on 56 carries, and Freeman, who had 11 carries for 15 yards against the Seahawks, has totaled 25 yards at 1.8 yards per carry for the Texans in two games. Mark Ingram, who was traded to the Saints on Oct. 29 for a 2024 seventh-round pick, still remains the franchise’s leading rusher with 294 yards.
The Texans could activate just two running backs again, but a run game that ranks last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (77.5) totaled only 65 yards with Burkhead and Freeman in a 33-13 loss to the Seahawks and contributed to yet another second-half offensive slump. When Burkhead exited with his hip injury, reserve tight end Jordan Akins had to fill in at running back in certain offensive packages.
Scottie Phillips remains on injured reserve. Culley said the 24-year-old is “much, much better” since suffering his leg injury against the Dolphins but isn’t certain what the timetable is yet for a return. Phillips first became eligible to return from
Grugier-Hill put on COVID list
Texans linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill has been placed on the team’s COVID-19 reserve list. The designation comes a day after the six-year veteran was carted off the field after suffering a knee injury in the loss to the Seahawks.
Culley said Grugier-Hill’s knee injury was “not quite as bad as what we thought” and didn’t rule out a possible return this weekend in Jacksonville. But the linebacker’s placement on the COVID reserve makes such an early return even more unlikely.
According to the NFL’s COVID-19 policy, if vaccinated individuals don’t return two consecutive negative tests taken at least 24 hours apart, they may return after 10 days.
The injury initially appeared much more severe. Grugier-Hill was carted off the field after he sustained his non-contact injury on the first drive of the third quarter. He dropped back in coverage, planted his feet to change direction, then went down gripping his right knee.
Grugier-Hill’s aptitude in pass coverage helped him usurp former veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham as one of Houston’s two main linebackers when the defense deployed its nickel packages, and, when Cunningham was cut last week, GrugierHill became the team’s full-time “Will” linebacker in their base defensive package.
Grugier-Hill had 88 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception against the Titans that he returned 82 yards.
Slot receiver open after Davis hurt
Texans wide receiver Davion Davis fractured his lower left leg and is out for the season.
The 25-year-old slot receiver suffered the injury after playing one snap in the team’s loss to the Seahawks, in which he caught a third-down pass over the middle for 17 yards.
Phillip Dorsett, who was signed to the Texans’ active roster on Saturday, is in line to take over slot receiver duties going forward, Culley said. The Texans signed the six-year NFL veteran to the active roster on Saturday, and Dorsett had one catch for nine yards in relief of Davis against the Seahawks. He had one carry on an end-around that went for no gain.
Davis, a former FCS All-American at Sam Houston State, recorded one catch on three targets in two games. By losing Davis for the season, Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will need to adapt his offense around an injured slot receiver yet again.
The franchise had to sign Danny Amendola when Anthony Miller’s shoulder dislocation during the preseason kept him out of the season opener, and, after Amendola suffered a Week 2 hamstring injury against the Browns, the Texans returned to Miller for two games before cutting him in early October.
Chris Moore, a six-year veteran who began the season on the practice squad, was elevated against the Patriots in Week 5 to replace Miller and recorded career-highs in catches (5) and yards (109) with a touchdown in the 25-22 loss.
But, after Moore caught four passes for 14 yards in a 31-3 loss against the Colts, Amendola returned to the lineup the following week against the Cardinals. Amendola was the featured slot receiver with 11 catches for 92 yards in five games until he was sidelined with a knee injury against the Jets.
Amendola, who was placed on the injured reserve, underwent a scope on his knee in early December and was expected to miss four games.
Dorsett, who has amassed 126 catches and 1,646 yards in his career with the Colts, Patriots, Jaguars, Seahawks and Texans, supplanted Moore in the lineup on Sunday. Moore was a healthy scratch against the Seahawks, Culley said, and he is available on the active roster to play if needed.