MINNEAPOLIS – Texans starting center Juice Scruggs is back from a groin injury and active for Sunday’s road game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Scruggs was sidelined against the Chicago Bears, but returned to practice this week.
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Inactive for the Texans: Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon who didn’t practice all week due to a sprained ankle. His status is regarded as week to week, per league sources. Mixon didn’t travel with the team for this game.
Backup running back Dameon Pierce is ruled out for this game due to a strained hamstring for the second week in a row.
The Texans’ other inactives are nickel Myles Bryant, linebacker Jamal Hill, wide receiver John Metchie III, center Jarrett Patterson (strained calf, didn’t make the trip) and outside linebacker Rashad Weaver.
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Mixon injured his ankle on a hit from Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards on Sunday night at NRG Stadium with no penalty called, but Edwards was fined $16,883.
Running back Cam Akers, Mixon’s replacement against his old team, has been impressive, displaying flashes of his playmaking ability.
“He has great vision,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “He’s been running, ran zone scheme he came from, he did the same thing in Minnesota. He’s really good at reading that, we call it riding the wave, finding the right hole to hit. He always plays under control.
“When he sees it, he hits it. He finishes physical. And he has really good contact balance and I’d say those are the things that jump out with Cam. You pretty much see that every carry.”
A former starter for the Los Angeles Rams and second-round draft pick from Florida State, Akers rushed for 32 yards on seven carries with one lost fumble against the Bears.
Akers rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown in six games last season for the Vikings before tearing his Achilles tendon and has made a complete recovery.
“Cam has run the ball well, as we’ve seen,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He did a good job for us, so we’ll see where Cam is as we go throughout the week as well.”
Mixon, who rushed for one yard on one carry before being taken back out of the game and replaced by Cam Akers, who rushed for a team-high 32 yards on seven carries and lost a fumble on an unflagged helmet-to-helmet shot in the red zone, finished the game with nine carries for 25 yards. He caught three passes for 25 yards one week after rushing for 159 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 30 carries.
“The NFL and NFLPA made it a rule and an emphasis for a reason,” Mixon wrote on social media after the game. “Time to put your money where your mouth is. When I got up, I asked the ref where is the flag that was a hip tackle. & his reply was no it wasn’t.”
The Texans rushed for just 3.4 yards per carry, gaining 75 yards on 22 carries one week after Mixon averaged 5.3 yards per run against the Colts.
“Losing Joe was tough for our offense,” Ryans said. “The production that Joe had the first week was beneficial. He was key to our success in the first week.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 click2houston.com.
