Texans not activating Christian Harris from injured reserve this week, Joe Mixon and Tank Dell are ‘day to day’

HOUSTON – Texans Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Tank Dell are “day to day” in their recovery from injuries.

Mixon was ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to a sprained ankle suffered against the Chicago Bears in a game-time decision after returning to practice Friday morning, per league sources. There is optimism that he could return to play this week against the Buffalo Bills.

Mixon looked good in practice Friday, and his outlook is encouraging.

The defending AFC South champions elevated reserve running back J.J. Taylor from the practice squad to the active roster for the Jacksonville game.

Meanwhile, wide receiver Tank Dell is making steady progress in his recovery from bruised ribs that sidelined him against the Jaguars.

“We will see how they progress throughout the week of practice,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday during his weekly press conference at NRG Stadium.

Texans linebacker Christian Harris will remain on injured reserve and won’t be designated for return to start practicing this week, Ryans indicated.

Harris is eligible to return having missed the first four games after he aggravated a strained calf after returning to practice in training camp and was placed on injured reserve and is eligible to be designated for return after four games.

Harris recorded a career-high 101 tackles last season and returned an interception for a touchdown in a playoff victory over the Cleveland Browns. Harris is coming off his best NFL season. He became the seventh player in NFL history to record a pick-six for a touchdown and record a sack in the same playoff game since retired Texans defensive end J.J. Watt did so against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012.

“No, Christian won’t be practicing this week,” Ryans said. “He’s still on the road to recovery. He’s doing well, on the right track. We’ll get him when we get him.”

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Dell caught a season-high five passes for 62 yards on six targets in the Texans’ 34-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

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Dell entered Sunday with four receptions for 37 yards through two games. He caught one pass for minus-three yards on four targets in a win last week over the Bears,

Dell caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie last season before he broke his fibula.

Wide receiver John Metchie III was active for the first time this season and caught one pass for seven yards.

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NOTES: Texans return specialist and wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. had a rough game Sunday. The Travis graduate muffed a punt with the Jaguars recovering the loose football and scoring a touchdown. He was benched briefly and reinserted into the game. Then, he committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and was taken out of the game again.

“For Sims, and every player, you just have to be accountable,” Ryans said. “That is the message to everybody. We all wish we didn’t make mistakes with plays, but mistakes happen. You move on. We can’t go back and correct it, we just move on.” ...

Ryans delivered a stirring sideline speech to the defense that defensive end Danielle Hunter credited for lifting the team in the second half. Ryans didn’t like what he was seeing from a defense he runs.

“For me, the energy wasn’t there, how we were playing just wasn’t there, my play style of how I envision our defense playing wasn’t there,” Ryans said. “We weren’t playing our style, and I did not like the sideline demeanor, I did not like the energy from our defense and I want to correct it while we still had an opportunity to correct the end game and not wait until the game is over to talk about it. We had to get it fixed right then.”

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