The Houston Texans were not thrilled about their Week 4 performance against the Atlanta Falcons as the team is in need of a bounce back in a short week against the Indianapolis Colts. That could be harder than anticipated as injuries continue to pile up on offense. While Arian Foster is back in the mix, the wide receiver position could be missing key faces in Week 5.
According to head coach Bill O'Brien via the team website, Cecil Shorts has been ruled out for Week 5 against the Colts. The wide receiver who signed in free agency suffered a shoulder injury on the final play against the Atlanta Falcons. O'Brien did not go into details about what the injury was and if it would linger, simply saying that the receiver would be out for the foreseeable future.
"It's football, you know what I mean," Shorts said via HoustonTexans.com. "Of course you don't want to get hurt in any part of the game, but the last play, but it is what it is. Just got to move on and get back as fast as I can."
Losing Shorts leaves the team without their No.2 receiver alongside DeAndre Hopkins. They could also be without their No.3 receiver as Nate Washington has been ruled day-to-day with a hamstring injury. Washington also suffered the injury against the Falcons, exiting in the second quarter with the issue. For the short-term, the Texans plan on increasing the role of rookie Keith Mumphery. They could also look to activate rookie Jaelen Strong who has yet to be seen on the field. O'Brien would not rule out the idea of getting a free agent option for help.
"I'm sure we'll reconvene later on here today, but right now, you got Hop, you have (Keith) Mumphery, (Jaelen) Strong, and (Chandler) Worthy," O'Brien said, via the team website. "Those are the guys that you have right now. Hop's been out there a lot obviously, but Mumphery really had some good catches yesterday and played hard. Strong's getting better. He had a good week of practice last week. Worthy same thing. Young players that we think are getting better."
The loss of Shorts and potentially the loss of Washington could really set the struggling Ryan Mallett back. The struggling quarterback was benched against the Atlanta Falcons and replaced by Brian Hoyer. According to O'Brien via the Houston Chronicle, Mallett will be the starter in Week 5 as he likely will rely heavily on Foster in his second game of the season.