Texans S M.J. Stewart Returns to Practice: What It Means for the Secondary

The Houston Texans could be getting some reinforcements within their secondary relatively soon.

That's because their veteran safety, M.J. Stewart, officially returned to practice on Wednesday leading up to Week 3's matchup vs. the Indianapolis Colts.

S M.J. Stewart has returned to practice.
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 23, 2026

It's a significant development for Stewart knowing that he's been out of the mix on Houston's defense for the past several months, as he's been recovering from a quad injury he sustained in 2025.

The last time he was on an NFL field for a game was all the way back in Week 10 of last season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and has been on injured reserve ever since.

However, as of this Wednesday heading into Week 3, Houston has activated his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve, which marks the biggest step in his return since he first went down.

What M.J. Stewart's Return to Practice Means for the Secondary

The Texans have been patiently waiting to get Stewart back in the mix for the back-end of their secondary, who provides a layer of experience and consistency, even having started for Houston in four games last year before he was hurt.

Stewart is entering his ninth season in the NFL, coming off a year where he played nine games to log 25 tackles, two passes defended, and a forced fumble, really putting him on track to have his best season since arriving with the Texans in 2022 before he went down with his injury.

Jan 5, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Houston Texans safety M.J. Stewart (29) celebrates the tackle for loss on Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Now after a lengthy recovery, Stewart is right on the cusp of his return, and it comes at a pretty ideal time. The Texans could use another safety on their 53-man roster at the moment, and haven't quite seen their secondary stack up to the league's best status they were touted to have before the 2026 season kicked off.

Heading into Week 3, Houston has just three traditional safeties signed onto their roster, excluding Jalen Pitre––Calen Bullock, Reed Blankenship, Kamari Ramsey––and can benefit from another layer of depth behind them with someone like Stewart.

There's even a chance that, when factoring in some of the recent struggles shown by Blankenship, a starting role for Stewart is well within play once he's activated from injured reserve and gets his feet wet with a few in-game reps.

Blankenship, the Texans' offseason newcomer at safety, has had a poor beginning of his Houston tenure. He's allowed nine receptions on nine targets, over 150 yards, and a perfect passer rating in just two games as their starter in coverage next to Calen Bullock, and is in dire need of a bounceback Week 3.

Depending on how Blankenship's play trends in the next one to two weeks while Stewart recovers, his benching could be in play much sooner than expected in hopes of getting this secondary back to the elite level it was throughout the course of last season.

So keep an eye on Stewart's status in the coming days, as it could have big implications on what's ahead for this Texans secondary. He's eligible to be elevated from injured reserve between now and their first practice before Week 6 against the Jaguars, when his 21-day window officially expires.

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