| Texans CB Johnathan Joseph missed practice Wednesday with a sore groin. (US Presswire) |
The Texans were without CB Johnathan Joseph at practice Wednesday. He sat out with a sore groin, and coach Gary Kubiak said after practice that he doesn’t expect Joseph to practice Thursday.
Kubiak is optimistic Joseph will be able to play Sunday against Baltimore.
“I think there are concerns until he gets back on the field,” Kubiak said. “We’ve been down this road before so we know what we’re dealing with. He’s very upbeat [Wednesday]. I like our chances, but I’m going to wait. It’s probably going to be an end of the week decision.”
Joseph has been dealing with groin soreness this season, but it has not resulted in any missed game time. Still, Joseph has not looked himself, especially this past week against Green Bay, when the Texans allowed six touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers.
Although Houston has its bye week after Sunday's game with the Ravens, Kubiak is not inclined to rest Joseph to give him extra time for his injury to heal. With both teams are tied for the best record at 5-1 in the AFC, this week's game could have playoff implications down the road.
“We’re all hands on deck to go win a football game,” Kubiak said. “If the doctors tell me that they think it’s a problem with it, you think we should hold him, if they tell me that then we definitely do it. To sit here [Wednesday] and say that’s what we should do for the long haul, I think we got to give him a chance because he’s been down this road before and played extremely well. We got to give him a chance to do it again. It’s a very big game.”
RB Arian Foster, LB Bradie James and DE Antonio Smith were limited in practice Wednesday. Foster and James were just given extra rest while Smith had a sore foot.
Quick Hits
- A lot of the players downplayed the significance of Sunday’s game, but Kubiak acknowledged the weight it could carry. “Obviously, the fact that we’re both 5-1, I know it’s early in the season but a game carries a lot of weight down the road. So, we know the importance of the game,” he said.
- Foster said he reached out to Ravens LB Ray Lewis after his season-ending triceps injury and wished him well in his recovery. “I think it was a sad day for football when he went down,” Foster said. “He’s been the face of the NFL on the defensive side for years. To see him go down like that; it’s never a good thing to see one of your comrades fall. He’s such a good dude and he works hard.”