The Houston Texans will be without 30-year old WR Andre Johnson for a while due to a hamstring injury.  This is a big blow to the Texans’ passing game.  Johnson has played in all 4 games for the Texans this year and he has caught 25 passes for 352 yards (14.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Texans are hoping that Jacoby Jones is ready to step up and be the main man in the passing game until Johnson is ready to return to action.  Jones has played in all 4 games for the Texans so far this year and he has caught 7 passes for 91 yards (13.0 avg).  Jones has the speed to get down the field and make big plays, but he’s not consistent on the shorter routes.

The Texans have waived 25-year old RB Steve Slaton.  Slaton played in 3 games for the Texans this year and he carried the ball 7 times for 20 yards (2.9 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards also this year.  Slaton played in 42 games in his 4 years with the Texans and he carried the ball 425 times for 1,832 yards (4.3 ypc) with 12 TD carries.  He also caught 98 passes for 811 yards (8.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs for the Texans.  With Arian Foster back and ready to rock, the Texans decided that they had better uses for Slaton’s roster spot which led to his release.

The Houston Texans have lost 28-year old backup OT Rashad Butler for the rest of the season due to torn triceps that he injured against the Dolphins last weekend.  Butler played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Texans this year.  He has now played in 42 games (4 starts) for the Texans in his first five years with the team.  The Texans have signed 25-year old OT Andrew Gardner off the practice squad and he will replace Butler in his role as the backup OT.  Gardner has only played in 1 game in his NFL career and it came way back in 2009 with the Dolphins.

31-year old RB Derrick Ward has a high ankle sprain which will cause him to miss multiple weeks.  Ward started the season opener for the Texans and he carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ward played in all 16 games (0 starts) in his first year with the Texans in 2010 and he carried the ball 50 times for 315 yards (6.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 7 passes for 61 yards (8.7 avg) last year.  With Arian Foster (hamstring) also missing some time, the Texans are getting thin at RB.  But they still have Ben Tate and Steve Slaton so they should be o.k. until Foster and Ward are ready to return to action.

The Texans have lost 29-year old starting WR Kevin Walter for the next 10-12 weeks due to a broken left shoulder.  Walter played in yesterday’s game and he caught 1 pass for 14 yards before injuring his shoulder.  Walter has played in 79 games (63 starts) in his six years with the Texans and he has caught 247 passes for 3,105 yards (12.6 avg) with 19 TD grabs.  Jacoby Jones will replace Walter in the starting lineup and the Texans will need Bryant Johnson to serve Jones’ old role as the #3 WR.  This has potential to hurt the Texans as Walter was the Texans’ possession receiver.  I look for Matt Schaub to look for TE Owen Daniels a lot more on the short stuff.

UPDATE:  (9/12/2011) – Kevin Walter doesn’t have a broken left shoulder, it’s just really badly bruised.  He might even be able to play in this weekend’s game against the Dolphins in Miami.

The Texans have lost 27-year old G/T Kasey Studdard for the season due to ankle surgery that he underwent last Friday.  Studdard played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Texans last year.  He has played in 25 games (14 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  This is going to hurt the Texans a little bit as Studdard has a lot of versatility, as he could fill in at either guard or tackle.

The Texans have placed 22-year old rookie LB Darryl Sharpton on the Injured Reserve List due to a dislocated shoulder.  Sharpton was a 4th round pick (#102 overall) out of Miami (Fl) in last April’s NFL Draft.  Sharpton played in 12 games for the Texans this year and he had 34 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for a loss.  Sharpton look solid this year and he will have a role in the defense going forward.

The Texans have placed 27-year old WR David Anderson on the Injured Reserve List due to a shoulder injury.  Anderson played in 12 games for the Texans this year and he caught 11 passes for 117 yards (10.6 avg).  He has now played in 61 games in his first five years with the Texans and he has caught 81 passes for 886 yards (10.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Anderson is pretty much the Texans’ #4 WR so they should be able to get by without him the last three weeks.

The Texans have placed 27-year old right guard Mike Brisiel on the Injured Reserve List due to a shoulder injury.  Brisiel played in 12 games (9 starts) for the Texans this year.  He has now played in 37 games (34 starts) in his first five years in the NFL.  This will hurt the offensive line the last three weeks.

The Texans have placed 25-year old DE Mario Williams on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to an aggravation of a sports hernia.  Williams played in 13 games for the Texans this year and he had 28 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Williams has now played in 77 games in his first five years with the Texans and he has 230 tackles, 48 sacks, 9 passes defensed and 10 forced fumbles.  This is really going to hurt the Texans as Williams has 8.5 of the Texans 24 sacks this year.  Still, the Texans made the right move in drafting Mario Williams over Reggie Bush.