Houston Texans injury report: Latest on Stefon Diggs, Dameon Pierce, Jimmie Ward for Week 9
The Houston Texans' Week 9 schedule is a road game against the floundering New York Jets on Thursday at MetLife Stadium.
New York lost 25-22 to the New England Patriots last Sunday, extending its winless run to five games. The Jets needed a win to save their postseason dream in that game, but they couldn't deliver.
Meanwhile, the Texans are 6-2 going into their Halloween night matchup after defeating the Indianapolis Colts 23-20 at home last weekend.
Let's examine Houston's injury report heading into the TNF game as we prepare for another exciting NFL contest.
Houston Texans injury report
Before the team's walkthrough on Tuesday, Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said that wide receiver Stefon Diggs would miss the rest of the season due to an ACL tear in his right knee. The team now has its No. 1 and No. 2 wideouts on the IR, as Nico Collins is also still recovering from the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 5.
Both center/guard Jarrett Patterson (concussion) and running back Dameon Pierce (groin) have not practiced this week, so they could also miss the game against the Jets.
In a positive update for the Texans, safety Jimmie Ward (groin) and linebackers Henry To'oTo'o (concussion) and Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) have all resumed practice this week. While the other two were only able to take part in limited capacities on Tuesday, To'oTo'o practiced fully on both Monday and Tuesday.
Safety Calen Bullock came back to the field after suffering a shoulder injury early in the second half of the Texans' win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8. He has been listed as limited twice in the team's injury reports ahead of Week 9.
Stefon Diggs injury update
Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore his ACL in Week 8 and will miss the rest of the Houston Texans season.
The 30-year-old wideout went down with a non-contact knee injury and remained down on the ground in the third quarter of last weekend's 23-20 victory against the Colts. He was then seen leaving for the locker room to be assessed, but he did not return during the fourth quarter.
Diggs' torn ACL was confirmed by DeMeco Ryans on Tuesday.
Dameon Pierce injury update
Dameon Pierce backs up Joe Mixon as the running back for the Houston Texans this season, while also serving as a punt returner. However, due to a groin issue that kept him from participating in Houston's workouts on Monday and Tuesday, he could be sidelined for the game against the Colts.
To have any chance of participating on Thursday, he is going to have to practice on Wednesday.
Jimmie Ward injury update
Jimmie Ward was a limited participant in the walk-through the Texans held on Tuesday after being listed as DNP in the report the team issued on Monday.
According to reports, Ward was only seen stretching and performing minor drills while wearing pads on Tuesday. However, the fact that he was able to practice at all for the first time since being injured shows that he is improving. After missing the last three games due to a groin injury, it is still unclear if Thursday night's game is too soon for the player.