HOUSTON – Texans wide receivers Tank Dell and Noah Brown and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins are all active, as expected and reported, heading into Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.
Dell told KPRC 2 Friday that he would play Sunday after missing one day of practice for a calf injury that was confirmed as minor by a magnetic resonance imaging exam.
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“Yeah, I feel good, I’m good,” Dell told KPRC 2. “It was just like them taking care of me making sure I was good to go for Sunday. I’m good now. Pretty exciting team, they’re on a five-game winning streak. Their defense been doing great, so just going to bring up a challenge for us offensively and defensively. We ready.”
A third-round draft pick from the University of Houston, Dell has caught 47 passes for 709 yards and a franchise rookie record seven touchdowns. He’s on pace to finish the season with 73 catches, 1,096 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Brown has recovered from a knee contusion.
Rankins is back from an elbow injury.
Texans veteran tight end Dalton Schultz was officially ruled out for Sunday’s game on Friday..
Schultz is one of Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s favorite downfield targets. He got hurt last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, catching one pass for two yards. He has caught 40 passes for 455 yards and five touchdowns this season.
The Texans’ inactives are Schultz, defensive end Myjai Sanders, third quarterback Case Keenum, wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, offensive guard Nick Broeker and running back Mike Boone.
With Schultz sidelined, Brevin Jordan will be the primary replacement along with Eric Saubert.
Veteran safety and team captain Jimmie Ward is back from a hamstring injury after missing consecutive practices. He’s set to start Sunday next to safety Jalen Pitre.
Brown returned to practice Wednesday after missing the past two games with a knee contusion. He has caught 21 passes for 439 yards and one touchdown, averaging 20.9 yards per catch. He had a career-high 172 yards on seven catches against the Cincinnati Bengals in his last game before being sidelined. He caught six passes for 153 yards and one score against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was limited.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
