Texans tight end Dalton Schultz returns to practice, expected to play against Bears, Juice Scruggs misses practice

HOUSTON – Texans veteran tight end Dalton Schultz returned to practice Friday and is expected to play Sunday night against the Chicago Bears, barring an unexpected setback.

He has no injury designation and participated fully in practice.

Schultz was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday after sustaining a sprained ankle against the Indianapolis Colts and finishing the game. The injury was not regarded as serious, per a league source.

Meanwhile, starting center Juice Scruggs didn’t practice Friday due to a groin injury and backup running back Dameon Pierce was sidelined with a hamstring injury that limited him Thursday in practice. Scruggs’ injury isn’t regarded as serious or long term and his status for Sunday’s game is still being determined. If Scruggs can’t go, then backup center Jarret Patterson would be his primary replacement.

Scruggs is expected to rest and rehab his injury for the next few days and test it out before kickoff and determine if he can play. Patterson took the first-team center snaps the past two days of practice. He is officially listed as questionable.

Patterson has been taking the first-team snaps the past two days of practice.

Pierce is regarded as a question mark for Sunday’s game and may miss this game. If he can’t go, Cam Akers, who excelled in the preseason in his comeback from a pair of torn Achilles tendons, would step in as the primary backup to Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon.

Schultz caught all three passes thrown to him Sunday against the Colts for 16 yards during a 29-27 win.

A former fifth-round draft pick from Miami, backup tight end Brevin Jordan has caught 52 career passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns. He caught 17 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 21 targets in 14 games and six starts last season. Jordan caught one pass for three yards against the Colts. He had a 76-yard touchdown in an AFC wild-card playoff win against the Cleveland Browns last season.

“Yeah, I really think Brevin, from through the course of last season, took a massive step as far as just being a professional,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “Being an NFL player and not just physically, but mentally and everything that goes along with that. So, he knew he had to get in his playbook. He knew he had to learn our scheme. But then he went to an extra step of, ‘OK, how do I devote this extra time to taking care of my body? How do I devote this extra time to making sure, on game day I’m 100 percent? I’m good to go, I’m looking fast.’

“And he grew into that as the season went on, which I think everybody saw the way he played as the season went on. And then he carried that over into the offseason and all he’s continued to do is get better and better and better even through camp all the way into this game. I mean, some of the run blocking clips he had in this game were some of the best we’ve had since we’ve been here. And that’s stuff he’s been doing since training camp. So, he’s just embraced all phases of being an NFL player.”

A fourth-round draft pick from Ohio State, rookie tight end Cade Stover did a nice job as a lead blocker for running back Joe Mixon against the Colts.

“One thing about Cade is that from the moment he stepped in our facility he has been very smart and on it,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Anything that we have asked him to do, he is ready to go. He doesn’t make mistakes, and that is a lot being said for a rookie. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, he is where he is supposed to be and he enjoys playing the game of football. So for him to get at that fullback position, he was ready for it and he did a really good job of it.”

Wide receiver Nico Collins was added to the injury report as limited Thursday, but there is no concern about his status for the Bears game. He practiced Friday.

Schultz was signed this offseason to a three-year, $36 million deal that includes $23.5 million fully guaranteed with a $7.5 million signing bonus, per a league source.

Schultz has fully guaranteed base salaries in 2024 and 2025 of $5 million and $11 million, respectively.

He is due an $11 million nonguaranteed base salary in 2026.

Schultz, 27, is a reliable downfield target for quarterback C.J. Stroud. He caught 59 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns on 88 targets last season after leaving the Dallas Cowboys to sign a one-year deal with the Texans last year.

Texans safety M.J. Stewart remains sidelined with a knee-quadriceps injury and will miss the Bears game, his second week in a row he’s out.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com