Texans Position Group Dealing With HUGE Injury Issues Ahead of Bengals Matchup

The Houston Texans' vaunted defense may be getting brought to its knees by injuries already early this season. The linebacker unit in particular is shredded by dings, with three key players slated to miss the Week 2 game against Cincinnati.

It could lead to a huge game on the ground for Chase Brown and open up the middle of the field again for the tight-end attack. Head coach Demeco Ryans confirmed star linebacker Henry To'To is going to miss the contest with a shoulder injury, while fellow starter E.J. Speed is already on injured reserve and backup linebacker Jake Hummel suffered a second-half groin injury and is likely out as well.

They now have just two linebackers healthy from their original 53-man roster: Azeez Al-Shaair and rookie Aiden Fisher.

Cluster injuries at one important position are hard to overcome in the NFL as Cincinnati tries to win on the road as slight betting underdogs.

“Unfortunately, Henry has a shoulder injury,” Ryans told reporters on Monday when asked directly about the fourth-year inside linebacker. “He’ll be out for some time.”

The Bills just hung 36 points on the Texans as Cincinnati tries to win the explosive-play battle again on Sunday and post a winning mark.

“No, pretty good. Maybe a couple guys limited earlier in the week but came out pretty clean," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said on Monday about Cincinnati's health.

He also touched on Cincinnati's linebacker group, which came out unscathed and had a career-best performance from second-year thumper Barrett Carter.

“I think just the speed in which they diagnose things and go make a play. There's no hesitation, which over the course of the season they certainly improved on, but they trust the talent around them," Taylor noted. "So you don't have to do too much. I thought that they had really good command of the defense. Barrett with the headset and doing a good job getting us in the right calls. So I was impressed. And again, there's improvement for everybody we had, but I thought it was a good starting point.”

The Texans defense has a few less sharp teeth to bite with this week.

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Amazon. Bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals! Join the 67,000+ Bengals fans who subscribe to us on YouTube.

Add us as a preferred source on Google