Houston Texans Injury Report: Posey In, Mercilus Out Against Cowboys

As the Texans get closer to the showdown between backups up in Arlington this Thursday, the team is starting to release information about who we may or may not suit up against their in-state rivals.

DeAndre Hopkins - Questionable

Hopkins has worked his way up to stage four out of five in the team's concussion protocols.  He has a solid chance of returning to practice tomorrow. I personally do not think Hopkins will play against Dallas, but if this were the regular season, I would not rule it out.

Kubiak had this to say:

"He’s doing good. He has not been totally cleared to return to practice. … He did do a lot of work (Tuesday) with the trainers."

DeVier Posey - Active

Posey has made a miraculous recovery from the torn Achilles he suffered a mere seven months ago. Not only did he avoid being put on the PUP list, but he has been given the green light to see game action in just two days for the first time since the 2012 Divisional Playoffs.

"He needs to just get out there and get his feet wet, so he’ll probably play about 12 plays. He’ll get hit, get tackled and all that confidence he’s been working on, just make sure he’s ready to go. But he’s good."

- Gary Kubiak

Whitney Mercilus - Out

Mercilus has been sidelined for weeks with a hamstring injury, but is on track to start in the Week One opener in San Diego. Kubiak has elected to hold Mercilus out of this week's preseason tilt to make absolutely sure Mercilus will be ready to go on September 9th.

Ed Reed - Out

Ed Reed, as has been reported for months, will not play a snap in the preseason.  There is still a chance that Reed will return for the Monday night opener in a week and a half. Gary Kubiak has left the decision up to Reed himself.

"It’s really Ed’s call because he’s been through this process before. Ed’s played a lot of football. Ed doesn’t need to go out there and play cover-3 because he’s been doing it for many years — that’s not a problem. It gets down to him still having confidence in what he’s doing and feeling confident and, obviously, we’re in this for the long haul, so we want to do the smart thing.

We’re listening to him and he’s been through it before and everything he’s told us has held up. So we feel like he’s in a good place right now and we’ll see exactly where we’re at at the end of the week."

Arian Foster - Out

Foster is "ready to go" in his own words, but the Texans are still being cautious and keeping their bell cow back out of the action until Week One of the regular season. Foster has gone on record stating he does not really need preseason snaps, but I am sure there will still be a little rust that needs to be knocked off before fans can see Arian return to vintage form.

Mike Mohamed and Chris Jones - Active

Mohamed and Jones are both roster bubble players.  Both are unlikely to make the team, but they will get their chance to state their case this Thursday when they return to action against the Cowboys. Jones, known as the "Monster of the MAC" in college, will be a name to watch for the practice squad if Terrell McClain locks down the backup nose tackle spot.