JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the latest and arguably one of the most significant injury setbacks the injury-riddled Texans have endured, Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil has been ruled out and didn’t make the trip for a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Tunsil has a painful knee injury that has limited him in practice and involves stiffness in the joint, and rest may help the situation as a short-term solution, per league sources.
Josh Jones, who struggled at left tackle against the Indianapolis Colts, is expected to start again next to left guard Kendrick Green.
Meanwhile, the Texans officially placed cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. on injured reserve. Stingley injured his hamstring on the final play of practice Wednesday when his leg got stuck in place and he is out six to eight weeks, if not longer, according to league sources.
The Texans signed veteran safety DeAndre Houston-Carson to the active roster from the practice squad.
Houston-Carson, 30, had two tackles in the Texans’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts after being elevated from the practice squad. He has 141 career tackles and three interceptions.
He was previously with the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens.
Houston-Carson is a former Bears sixth-round draft pick.
The Texans elevated defensive tackle Khalil Davis and offensive tackle Austin Deculus from the practice squad.
The Texans worked out defensive tackle Cortez Broughton and defensive backs Tre Norwood, Rodarius Williams and Trill Williams, according to league sources.
Texans safety Jalen Pitre will miss his second consecutive game Sunday against the Jaguars due to a bruised lung.
The team captain is slated to return to practice next week in advance of a potential return to the lineup for a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pitre is among five starters ruled out for this game, including linebacker Denzel Perryman. Perryman is dealing with hand and wrist injuries and isn’t practicing. There is a chance he could play in the next week or so with a cast on his hand.
Stingley’s primary replacement is veteran corner Shaq Griffin, who will start against his former team.
“I expect all of our guys, whoever is out there, we just expect our guys to do their job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Play with passion, play with intensity and play together.”
Texans nickel Tavierre Thomas could return in the next week or two from a broken hand that required surgery, per a league source. He will be replaced by Grayland Arnold at nickel with Alex Austin practicing at nickel this week, too.
On Friday, Ryans was noncommittal on Tunsil.
“We’ll see how Laremy does,” the first-year coach said. “He went through practice this week, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has been an NFL-high sacked 11 times and hit 19 times overall. The Texans struggled in pass protection without Tunsil against the Colts on Sunday as Stroud was sacked six times and hit 10 times while passing for 384 yards. And Tunsil, the highest paid offensive lineman in the game again after negotiating a three-year, $75 million contract extension this offseason, was the highest-rated pass protector in the league last season.
Ryans attributed the extremely high amount of injuries to the normal rigors of the game.
The Texans have placed wide receiver Noah Brown (groin), offensive guard Kenyon Green (torn labrum), fullback Troy Hairston (back), offensive tackle Tytus Howard (hand surgery), punter Cameron Johnston (groin), wide receiver Jesse Matthews (torn anterior cruciate ligament), center Scott Quessenberry (torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments), defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway (calf), offensive tackle D.J. Scaife (knee), center Juice Scruggs (hamstring) and offensive tackle Kilian Zierer (ankle) on injured reserve.
“Playing football for a long time, coaching for a while, there are a lot of things that happen on the field that you just can’t control, and that’s the nature of the game that we play football,” Ryans said. “So, to try to pinpoint not getting us injured, that’s hard to do. You can’t justify how things happen. It’s football. Guys are making violent cuts, moving, reacting every play, so you can’t determine movements, that’s the name of our game: unpredicted movements.
“So, guys are stronger, faster now, and guys unfortunately get hurt, and that’s not new to the NFL. It’s happened since the game began. It’s a physical game, it’s a violent game, and it’s unfortunate that guys get injured at times. If we could control injuries, I promise you all across the NFL, there would not be an injury if anyone’s controlling it, but as you see, all over the NFL, it happens. And the main thing is, everybody needs to focus on that person and what they’re going through with those injuries. How hard is it on that guy?”