Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said after Wednesday's practice that Savage (concussion) wouldn't play Sunday against the Jaguars, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.
This isn't a surprising development after Savage was knocked out of the Week 14 loss to the 49ers, though he was briefly allowed to reenter the contest despite appearing to lose feeling in his hand when he suffered the concussion. The handling of that situation will be the subject of a joint investigation by the NFL and NFL Players' Association, but it shouldn't have any bearing on Savage's status. He'll be held to the normal standards of the NFL's concussion protocol, with O'Brien holding out hope that Savage might be ready to play Week 16 against the Steelers. T.J. Yates, who relieved Savage last week, will pick up the start in Jacksonville, with practice-squad quarterback Taylor Heinicke likely to earn a promotion to the 53-man roster and act as the backup.