DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans were expected to be short-handed when they face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9, and that has proven to be the case, specifically regarding starters David Montgomery and Reed Blankenship.
Montgomery is missing his third contest due to a groin injury, while Blankenship will miss his second due to a concussion.
The good news is that Blankenship and Montgomery are the only players ruled out for Week 9.
This was always the expected outcome, with Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans ruling Montgomery out on Wednesday, setting an ominous tone for the veteran running back who is in Year 1 with the team.
“David is still sidelined. He’ll be out still,” Ryans told reporters on November 4. “He’s still week to week, but he has made some progress.”
Blankenship is in similar territory, though there have been no updates from the Texans
KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson reported on X on November 2 that Montgomery’s rehab from his groin issue is going well, but also that his return was not imminent. Wilson first reported that Blankenship was dealing with a hand injury in October.
However, that turned into hand surgery on November 2, per the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander, leaving Blankenship’s return timeline even more nebulous.
Texans Get Jalen Pitre Back Amid David Montgomery, Reed Blankenship News
While Blankenship and Montgomery remain out, the Texans got plenty of good news on Friday on the injury front, including starting nickelback Jalen Pitre. He has been sidelined since Week 5, too, due to a shoulder injury.
The Texans listed their five other players who battled injuries this week as full participants in Friday’s injury report.
That includes Pitre, who spoke candidly about his excitement.
All of the Texans’ listed injured players but linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, offensive tackle Braden Smith, and tight end Brevin Jordan practiced in full all week, again including Pitre.
Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said they are “excited to have” Pitre back.
“A weapon for us,” Burke told reporters on November 5. “We can do a lot more with him because of his ability to play in the run game, and the pass game, and all those things. So–and is a good tackler, is a good physical presence for us. A good blitzer
“There’s a whole list of things that that JP brings to the table for us. So, excited to to get him back out there. And, honestly, just back to the , his energy, and his speed, and all those things. The way he runs around out there is contagious as well. So, it’s nice to have another another element like that back out there for us.”
Texans Catch Apparent Break Amid Rough Start
The Texans are still fighting for a playoff spot despite their 2-5 start to the season, but they have to start racking up wins to catch up to the pack in the AFC.
As of November 6, the Texans sat 11th in the conference.
Facing a winless Los Angeles Chargers team in Week 9 set up well for the Texans to notch their third win of the season. That will inarguably more difficult to do without their full compliment of starters, as Blankenship and Montgomery miss another contest.
The Chargers may be more talented than their record suggests, but the Texans also rattled off nine straight wins last season.
This week is arguably their last chance to start a similar run while it can still make a difference.
Houston Texans Confirm Bad News Before Los Angeles Chargers Game