Players taking precautions
Texans safety Eric Murray approached the podium wearing a mask, an extra precaution taken during a week in which COVID-19 positives have surged across the NFL. The whole team wore masks during its indoor walk-through on Wednesday, another precautionary measure that goes beyond league policies that have already tightened since the holiday season began.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to protect yourself,” Murray said.
The NFL discovered 37 positive tests on Monday, the most in any single day this season, and the number of people added to the league’s COVID-19 reserve list has risen to over 90. Texans starting linebacker
Kamu Grugier-Hill was among those who tested positive Monday. Starting linebacker Christian Kirksey, reserve safety A.J.
Moore and defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker were placed on the COVID reserve on Wednesday. The Rams responded to the surge by closing their team facility on Tuesday. The Browns had eight players test positive, including four starters, then, on Wednesday, starting quarterback Baker Mayfield and head coach
Kevin Stefanski also both tested positive. Browns center JC Tretter, the acting president of the NFL Players Association, released a statement that quoted an argument made in September that pressed the NFL to test players daily. The NFLPA has pushed for months to increase league policies that only require teams to test weekly, and Tretter’s comment read, “for up to six days, the virus spreads throughout the facility with no one knowing.” Texans running backs
David Johnson and Jaylen
Samuels were both added to the COVID-19 reserve after weekly tests revealed they were positive on Saturday, and, although Johnson’s was a false positive, he was required to sit out of the game against Seattle. The Texans played with just two running backs, and, when Rex Burkhead injured his hip in the second half, they were down to one.
Coach David Culley said the team is almost fully vaccinated. Former linebacker Zach Cunningham, who was released last week and claimed by the Titans, and current linebacker Eric Wilson were the only ones not vaccinated, Culley said.
Once again, little backfield depth
The Texans are again down to just two running backs.
Culley was optimistic that Burkhead could return to action beyond the weekend, but “he just won’t be able to go this week.”
Culley said Johnson, who returned from the COVID-19 reserve after a false positive, and recent waiver claim Royce Freeman will be the team’s running backs against the Jaguars.
DE Jenkins back at practice
Texans defensive end Jordan Jenkins practiced Wednesday after the franchise designated him to return from the injured reserve. Jenkins suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his knee during the first half of Houston’s 22-13 win over the Titans, and, on Nov. 27, the Texans placed him on the IR which required him to sit out at least three weeks.
Jenkins, who signed a two-year deal with the Texans in the offseason, had a large role in the defensive line rotation although he hasn’t started in a game this season.