The Texans have lost 28-year old RG Mike Brisiel indfefinitely due to a fractured fibula.  He has played in 13 games (all starts) for the Texans this year.  He has now played in 50 games (47 starts) in his first six years with the Texans.  The Texans aren’t going to put Brisiel on the Injured Reserve List as they think he could return to the team in the playoffs at some point.

30-year old WR Andre Johnson has re-injured his hamstring and he is going to miss at least the next game or two.  Johnson has played in 6 games for the Texans this year and he has caught 31 passes for 471 yards (15.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  This is going to hurt the Texans’ passing game big time as T.J. Yates was looking for Johnson a lot last week before his injury.  Johnson has now caught 704 passes for 9,635 yards (13.7 avg) with 52 TD grabs in his first 9 years with the Texans.  He is quite simply, the best offensive player in Texans’ franchise history.  The Texans will need Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter will have to step up while Johnson is out of action.

The Texans have lost 24-year old rookie punter Brett Hartmann for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.  He played in 12 games for the Texans this year and he punted the ball 58 times for 2,573 yards (44.4 avg).  Hartmann had 7 touchbacks (12.1%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 15 times (25.9%).  This is a big blow to the Texans as Hartmann proved to be really good at placing the ball where he wanted to.

The Texans have lost 28-year old QB Matt Leinart for the rest of the season due to a broken left collarbone.  Leinart played in 2 games (1 start) for the Texans this year and he completed 10 of 13 passes (76.9%) for 57 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (110.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard.  The starting job at QB for the Texans now falls to 24-year old rookie Tyler Yates.  Yates played decent in replacing Matt Leinart yesterday as he completed 8 of 15 passes (53.3%) for 70 yards without a TD pass or INT (66.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -3 yards (-0.8 ypc) so far this year.  The Texans need Tyler Yates to step up because the Titans are lurking two games behind them in the AFC South.

30-year old starting QB Matt Schaub is done for the season due to a Lisfranc injury to his foot which is going to require surgery to fix.  He played in 10 games (all starts) for the Texans this year and he completed 178 of 292 passes (61%) for 2,479 yards with 15 TD passes and 6 INTs (96.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 15 times for 9 yards (0.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year for the Texans.  Schaub has now played in 64 games (all starts) in his first five years with the Texans and he has completed 1,382 of 2,118 passes (65.3%) for 16,903 yards with 92 TD passes and 52 INTs (94.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 133 times for 214 yards (1.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs for the Texans.  This is a HUGE blow for the Texans, who are sitting atop of the AFC South with a 7-3 record.  Getting the Texans to the playoffs now falls on 28-year old Matt Leinart.

The Houston Texans will be without starting free safety Danieal Manning for at least the next 4-6 weeks as he has a fractured tibia.  Manning has played in 7 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 32 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Texans really need second year man Troy Nolan to step up while Manning is out of action.  Nolan has played in all 7 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 17 tackles, 1/2 a sack and 3 passes defensed so far this year.

The Texans have lost 25-year old backup safety Dominique Barber for the rest of the year as he fractured his Lisfranc bone in his foot last Sunday against the Ravens.  He needs season ending surgery to repair it.  Barber played in all six games for the Texans this year and he had 3 whopping tackles.  Barber has now played in 39 games in his first four years with the Texans and he has 57 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and 5 passes defensed.  The Texans will miss Barber more on special teams than on defense going forward.

The Houston Texans have  released 28-year old WR David Anderson.  Anderson played in 2 games for the Texans this year and he caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  He has played in 63 games in his first six years with the Texans and he has caught 82 passes for 895 yards (10.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Texans obviously feel that Derrick Mason is way better Anderson, and they are right about that.

Initially reports said that 27-year old starting fullback James Casey had a torn pectoral muscle.   But, it is only a strain and he will be day to day.  Casey has played in all 5 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 1 carry for 11 yards.  He has also caught 9 passes for 163 yards (18.1 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  The converted TE has great hands and he gives Matt Schaub another weapon in the passing game.  If Casey has to miss some time due to his injury, 28-year old Lawrence Vickers would take over at fullback.  He has played in all five games for the Texans so far this year but he has yet to touch the ball.  His game is blocking for the running game.

The Houston Texans have lost 26-year old OLB Mario Williams for the rest of the season due to a torn pectoral muscle which will require surgery to fix.  Williams played in 5 games for the Texans this year and he had 11 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  Williams has now played in 82 games in his first six years with the Texans and he has 241 tackles, 53 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 10 passes defensed and 26 tackles for a loss.  This is a huge loss for the Texans as Williams was their best pass rusher.