Houston Texans Injury News: Brandin Cooks Expected To Return, Updates On Randall Cobb & Brandon Dunn

Coming off an empty and depressing loss to the Chicago Bears, the Texans have to regroup and head back to the football field to face the Colts on Sunday in Indianapolis. There is already news on the injury front.

The good news: The Texans expect wide receiver Brandin Cooks to return, perhaps as early as this week.

With Cooks a scratch against the Bears two days ago, Houston had to play Keke Coutee, Chad Hansen, Steve Mitchell Jr., and Jordan Akins at wide receiver to make up for his absence; those wide receivers struggled to break man coverage the entirety of Sunday’s game.

In other wide receiver news, the Texans do not expect Randall Cobb to return from Injured Reserve this year. In an empty and lost season, Cobb may decide to have surgery on his toe, which would keep him out for the rest of the year. Who cares? Coutee needs all the playing time he can get. We all know what Cobb is—a replacement level wideout at this stage of his career who almost surely won’t be able to justify the contract Bill O’Brien and Jack Easterby bestowed upon him last spring.

Houston suffered another injury during this past Sunday’s loss in Chicago. It was when Brandon Dunn walked off the field gingerly. Turns out he suffered a pelvic fracture and is also out for the remainder of the season. The Texans are already thin at defensive tackle, so it’s going to be up to J.J. Watt, Ross Blacklock, Carlos Watkins, and Charles Omenihu to rotate along the defensive line from here on out.

The only roster move this week is the Texans cutting Brett Maher from the practice squad. I don’t know why he was there to begin with, but he’s no longer here.

Houston plays the Colts this Sunday at 12 p.m. in an attempt to screw with Indy’s postseason plans.